How To Know if You Have Mitral Valve Prolapse Syndrome

Mitral Valve Prolapse is a common heart abnormality, also called a "click murmur" and though statistics vary in regard to the number of Americans that have this disorder, one of the more commonly published statistics states that up to 1 in 5 Americans have Mitral Valve Prolapse. For most patients, this common disorder does not cause symptoms but for those in whom it does, it is referred to as "Mitral Valve Prolapse Syndrome" (MVPS). The symptoms this disorder commonly causes include: Chest pain, fatigue, palpitations, extra heartbeats, lightheadedness, dizziness, shortness of breath, anxiety and/or panic attacks, headaches, low exercise tolerance and mood swings.

The steps below can help you recognize if you have this syndrome. Remember that MVP is the heart condition that causes the syndrome (MVPS), but some patients have MVP and do not experience these symptoms:

1. If you notice that you have episodes of skipped heartbeats, heart flutters and flip-flops or rapid heartbeats (tachycardia), this can indicate that you have MVPS. The irregular heartbeats caused by MVPS are due to slight abnormalities in the mitral valve leaflets, or the supporting valve chords, or both. These structures allow the leaflet(s) to prolapse (or buckle) back into the left atrium during the heart's contraction-ventricular systole. While medical research has not concluded definitively what causes the mitral valve to prolapse abnormally in some people, they theorize that it is due to these valve leaflets becoming either thickened or stretched out over time and this causes them to vibrate or quiver slightly. This is why it is referred to as a "click murmur" due to the sound it can sometimes make when the heartbeat is listened to closely with a stethoscope.
2. If you are experiencing panic attacks and frequent episodes of free-floating anxiety, plus increased depression, this may indicate that you have MVPS. Anxiety is one of the more frightening symptoms of MVPS because panic attacks are the more common type of anxiety that people with this disorder experience. Medical research is not clear as to how anxiety symptoms are caused by MVPS, but some sources state that it could be due to slightly abnormal electrical impulses in the heart, caused by the abnormal prolapsing of the mitral valve leaflets, which triggers the fight or flight response (adrenaline rush) more frequently or at inappropriate and unexpected times. While anxiety is listed more commonly for MVPS, depression is also experienced more frequently in these patients. Patients may find that they more frequently experience both of these emotions simultaneously or they may find that these alternate, so that they are experiencing anxiety at some times and depression at other times.
3. Dizziness in general and dizziness upon standing from a sitting or lying down position (supine) can indicate that you have MVPS. The term for getting dizzy upon rising is "orthostatic hypotension" and is a form of "dysautonomia," which is a medical term for an irregular involuntary nervous system. This system of the body, also referred to as the "autonomic nervous system" automatically regulates our involuntary bodily functions, such as heart, respiratory and blood pressure functions. Certain diseases and disorders, including MVPS, can cause this system of our body to operate abnormally, which results in blood pressure not rising enough upon standing (hypotension) to supply adequate blood circulation to the heart and brain. While this irregular blood pressure upon standing usually only lasts a few seconds, it can also make a person with MVPS, feel faint, dizzy and pressure-type sensations in the head and neck. This dysautonomia aspect may also be the cause of the anxiety symptoms addressed in step #2, according to some medical sources.
4. If you become short of breath more easily and have less tolerance for exercise and physical exertion, this may indicate you have MVPS. People with MVPS will find that they become fatigued more easily from exercise and physical exertion and that they become short of breath more easily as well. Tolerance for exercise can become noticeably lowered in people with MVPS when they are experiencing the onset of symptoms not previously experienced. This syndrome can have an onset (symptom flares) at any age according to medical sources, however the symptoms are more common in women and more commonly found in ages beginning at the mid-teens and older. Some MVPS patients may even find that everyday activities fatigue them more easily and more often than before experiencing the syndrome.
5. If you have become sensitive to caffeine, chocolate, alcohol, excess sugar and stimulants, this may indicate you have MVPS. People who are experiencing MVPS find that they have unpleasant aftereffects from foods and drinks containing stimulant-type chemicals. Tobacco use can also cause symptom flares. These people will find that overindulgence of these chemicals or that even small to moderate amounts of any of these stimulants can cause symptom reactions. Even an extra cup of coffee or a chocolate bar can cause their heart to skip beats or flutter and can also trigger anxiety attacks, depression and fatigue more easily. We could also add "stress" to this category because stress is stimulating and a necessary mechanism in our daily lives however, stress levels that are excessive or prolonged can cause the same symptom flares in MVPS patients that these other stimulants can.

While a patient will notice the symptoms we've addressed in the 5 steps above, before they suspect that MVPS could be the cause, these are simply observations that should prompt a visit to their licensed physician. Once a patient has described their symptoms to their doctor, he can perform a physical, including listening closely to the patient's heart. He may detect a heart murmur by stethoscope but in many cases, MVP cannot be detected unless the patient is sent (referred) to a cardiologist (heart specialist) for a test called an "echocardiogram." This test is similar to ultrasound in that it uses very sensitive sound waves, transmitted onto a screen, so that the function of the heart can be monitored very clearly. If a patient has Mitral Valve Prolapse, the condition will be detected and definitively diagnosed using this diagnostic test.

In more severe cases of MVP, a patient can experience what is called "regurgitation" in the heart, meaning that there may be some backflow of blood into the atrium due to the prolapse. This form of MVP is very rare but can require surgery if it is severe enough.

For most patients with MVP, the treatment sometimes is simply taking a beta-blocker for rapid heart rate and blood pressure fluctuations. In some patients, their doctor may simply have them follow a regimen of improved diet, excluding stimulants and regular exercise, plus stress reduction. MVP patients are sometimes also found to be low in magnesium, a mineral the body needs for proper heart function. In cases of low magnesium, the patient simply takes a supplement to get the mineral back to the proper level.