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What To Know About Mitral Valve Disease
Mitral valve disease is when the heart's mitral valve stops functioning correctly. This can lead to blood not flowing around the body correctly and cause several health complications.
The mitral valve resides in the heart between the upper left chamber, known as the left atrium, and the lower left chamber, known as the left ventricle. The primary function of the mitral valve is to allow the normal flow of blood from the left atrium to the left ventricle and to stop blood from going in the wrong direction.
This article discusses the different types of mitral valve disease, symptoms, causes, and treatment options that may be available.
Mitral valve disease occurs when the mitral valve in the heart suffers from damage or disease and stops functioning correctly. This means the heart has to work harder, and a person may feel tired or breathless.
There are several different types of mitral valve disease, including mitral regurgitation (MR), mitral stenosis (MS), and mitral valve prolapse (MVP). MR typically affects over 2% of the total worldwide population, MS typically affects approximately 0.1% of people in the United States, and MVP typically affects 1.7% of the U.S. Population.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2017, mitral valve disease accounted for 15% of the deaths due to valvular heart disease in the U.S.
What heart valves doThe valves in the heart are small flaps of skin, known as leaflets, that open and close every time the heart beats.
The valves help control the flow of blood around the heart and stop blood from going in the wrong direction.
The mitral valve is on the left side of the heart and helps the blood flow from the left atrium to the left ventricle.
Learn more about heart valves.
Mitral valve stenosis and mitral valve regurgitation are the two main types of mitral valve disease that can be serious if a person does not seek the appropriate treatment.
Mitral valve stenosisMitral valve stenosis (MS) occurs when the mitral valve narrows, stiffens, and cannot open wide enough to allow blood to flow through sufficiently. This restricts the flow of blood through the heart and can make a person feel tired or short of breath.
The most common cause of MS is rheumatic fever. However, symptoms do not typically appear until several years after an episode. If a person does not seek the appropriate treatment, MS can lead to serious health complications, including heart failure.
Mitral valve regurgitationMitral valve regurgitation (MR) occurs when the mitral valve leaks and some blood flows backward into the left atrium, which can result in an excess of blood and pressure in the left atrium. This can put extra pressure on the veins that run from the heart to the lungs and cause pulmonary hypertension.
There are medications available to help treat MR. Although typically, a person may require a surgical procedure to repair or replace the mitral valve.
Mitral valve prolapseDoctors do not consider mitral valve prolapse (MVP) to be a type of mitral valve disease on its own. However, it is one of the main causes of MR.
MVP occurs when the mitral valve flaps do not close together smoothly or evenly. Instead, it bulges, or prolapses, upward into the left atrium.
The most common cause of MVP is a condition called myxomatous valve disease. This occurs when the leaflets or flaps of the valve are unusually stretchy.
MVP is typically harmless, and most of the time, a person may not realize they have the condition. Occasionally, a person with MVP may require treatment.
Mitral valve disease can be present from birth. There are several other reasons why mitral valve disease may develop, including:
Mitral valve disease does not always present with symptoms. A person may remain asymptomatic for several years.
When symptoms do occur, they can include:
There are several methods a doctor may use to diagnose mitral valve disease. Some of these can include:
The treatment options for mitral valve disease can vary, depending on the type a person has. If a person is not displaying any symptoms, they may not require any treatment.
A doctor may suggest making healthy lifestyle changes, such as quitting smoking, avoiding caffeine and alcohol, following a healthy, low sodium diet, and making regular visits to a doctor. This may help prevent the onset of symptoms.
If a person does require treatment, some of the options available can include:
Further health complications of mitral valve disease can include:
Read about the signs of a stroke.
A person may be born with heart problems that can lead to mitral valve disease or develop the condition later in life. However, there are several ways a person may be able to avoid mitral valve disease, including:
Mitral valve disease is a form of valvular heart disease that affects the mitral valve. The mitral valve is responsible for allowing the normal flow of blood from the left atrium to the left ventricle and preventing it from traveling backward.
Mitral stenosis and mitral regurgitation are the two main types of mitral valve disease.
A person may have mitral valve disease but not experience any symptoms. If a person is symptomatic, common symptoms can include dizziness, breathlessness, and fatigue.
A doctor may recommend healthy lifestyle changes, medications, such as beta-blockers, or heart surgery to repair or replace the mitral valve as forms of prevention and treatment for mitral valve disease.
What To Know About Mitral Valve Stenosis
Mitral valve stenosis is a form of valvular heart disease. It occurs when there is a narrowing of the mitral valve, which restricts the flow of blood from the left atrium to the left ventricle.
The mitral valve is in the heart, between the left atrium and left ventricle. The primary function of the mitral valve is to stop the blood in the heart flowing the wrong way. Stenosis is a term that refers to the narrowing of a body passage or opening.
Mitral valve stenosis (MVS) is a form of valvular heart disease that can occur when the mitral valve opening becomes narrow, stiff, and unable to fully open to allow the blood to flow through.
In this article, we will discuss the causes and symptoms of MVS, alongside some treatment options that are available.
The mitral valve is a heart valve that sits between the left atrium and the left ventricle. When the valve is functioning correctly, the primary function is to allow the blood to flow from the left atrium to the left ventricle and to stop it from going in the wrong direction.
MVS is a type of valvular heart disease that causes the narrowing and hardening of the mitral valve. This restricts the flow of blood through the heart and increases the pressure in the left atrium, causing the left atrium to enlarge.
This can lead to pulmonary hypertension, which is high blood pressure in the blood vessels that supply the lungs. A person may also have a greater chance of developing atrial fibrillation, which is an irregular heartbeat, or heart failure.
The most common cause of MVS is rheumatic heart disease (RHD).
RHD can occur when a person has had rheumatic fever, which results from an untreated strep infection and can damage the valves in the heart. However, symptoms may not present until 10–15 years after an episode of rheumatic fever.
Other causes of MVS include:
It is possible that MVS does not present with any symptoms. A doctor may advise a person with MVS that is not presenting any symptoms to attend regular appointments to monitor their condition.
If a person has symptomatic MVS, some of the symptoms may include:
To diagnose MVS, a doctor will listen to the heart and may be able to detect an unusual sound. Depending on the location of the sound, a doctor may be able to determine if they think the person has MVS.
To confirm this diagnosis, a doctor may need to look more closely at the heart and perform several tests. Some of these may include:
There are several medications available that may help to relieve some of the symptoms of MVS. These include:
A person with MVS may be able to undergo a surgical procedure to repair or replace the mitral valve. This will depend on the cause of MVS, how damaged the valve is, whether surgery may put the person at risk, how severe the symptoms are, and how the heart is functioning.
Some of the procedures may include:
A doctor may advise a person with MVS to make some lifestyle changes, including gentle exercise and eating a healthy, low-sodium diet.
Read more about heart-healthy lifestyle changes here.
If a person has advanced MVS, a doctor may ask them to reduce physical activity in order to avoid putting strain on the heart.
Once symptoms of MVS are present, the condition typically accelerates rapidly. Approximately 8 in 10 people with MVS do not live longer than 10 years from when the symptoms became apparent.
If a person with symptomatic MVS does not seek any form of treatment, there can be several serious health complications, including:
Mitral valve stenosis can occur when the mitral valve narrows and stiffens, causing a restriction in blood flow.
The most common cause of MVS is rheumatic heart disease, resulting from rheumatic fever. Symptoms may not present until 10–15 years after an episode of rheumatic fever. Symptoms of MVS can include fatigue, weakness, heart palpitations, and chest pain.
There are several medications available to help relieve the symptoms of MVS and surgical options to repair or replace the mitral valve. If a person with MVS does not seek the relevant treatment, it can lead to serious health complications, including heart failure.
Heart Disease Risk May Spike Risk For Muscle, Joint Problems
June 27, 2023 -- When she was in her 60s, Carole E., a retired accountant's assistant in Albuquerque, NM, started having neck pain. She found out that three of her neck vertebrae were compressed and her whole spinal canal was narrow.
"The neck problem was addressed with surgery to stabilize the disks and prevent them from compressing further, which could have led to paralysis," said Carole, now 81.
Although the surgery helped Carole's neck, she continued to have problems with her back. She developed degenerative disk disease, and during the past 3 years, she has developed severe hip pain, muscle cramps, and seizing in her legs, as well as arthritis in one rotator cuff.
Carole also developed a heart condition.
"I always had a heart murmur, but it was very tiny and faint and I was told not to worry about it," she said. "But about 3 years ago, it became a 'moderate' murmur and the cardiologist said we should watch it and evaluate it every 6 months."
The murmur suddenly progressed to "severe" and surprised her cardiologist. Carole had successful valve replacement surgery a few months ago.
Now there is new evidence to suggest what happened to Carole and others like her. It suggests people like Carole, who are at high risk of heart disease, are significantly more likely to develop disorders of the muscles and joints (called musculoskeletal disorders).
Common, but Not Well Researched
Lead author of the study, Kurt Hegmann, MD, MPH, professor of family and preventive medicine at the University of Utah and director of the Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, explained what motivated the study.
"These injuries are common, affecting most people multiple times over a lifetime," he said. Up to 5% of the U.S. Population has carpal tunnel syndrome, as many as 41% experience tennis elbow (also called lateral epicondylitis), and up to one-third have tears in their rotator cuff.
These conditions are "painful, cause disability, can require surgery, and may cause chronic pain," Hegmann said. "In short, they can impair people's daily life and enjoyment."
But although they're quite common, there is "little science" investigating their cause, he said. "We designed this study to comprehensively identify the risk factors driving these common problems so we could help prevent them."
The researchers studied 9 years of data from 1,224 workers across various employment sectors (manufacturing, health care, office jobs, and food processing) in three states: Illinois, Utah, and Wisconsin.
At the beginning of the study, participants completed questionnaires about their age, sex, medical conditions (such as diabetes), tobacco use, hobbies, exercise habits, depression, and job satisfaction. They also had interviews about symptoms, such as tingling and numbness, and had physical exams and nerve conduction studies. Their body mass index (BMI) was calculated using their height and weight, and their blood pressure was measured.
The participants were followed on a monthly basis to track the development of symptoms of musculoskeletal disorders. The disorders studied included carpal tunnel syndrome, tennis elbow, golfer's elbow, and rotator cuff tendinitis.
The researchers then compared the development of these disorders to cardiovascular disease risk, using a method derived from the Framingham Heart Study — a frequently used way to test a person's 10-year risk for developing heart disease.
All of the analyses were adjusted to take into account factors that could affect the results, such as BMI or the physical strain from a participant's work.
'Early Warning Signal?'
The findings were striking. "The risks were up to 17-fold, which is as strong as the relationship between lung cancer and smoking; this relationship was so great, it was quite surprising to us," Hegmann said.
Participants who were at 15% higher risk of heart disease had four times the risk of developing one or more musculoskeletal disorders, compared to people at low risk of heart disease; and their risk of developing four or more musculoskeletal disorders was 17 times greater.
"There is important corroborating evidence of impaired small blood vessels to injured tissues, due to cardiovascular risks, so the data overwhelmingly suggest that cardiovascular risks cause these injuries," Hegmann said.
On the other hand, people who have musculoskeletal disorders "might also reduce their activity levels, which could feed into an increased risk for other cardiovascular problems, such as heart attacks."
Carole says that over the last few years, she has become largely sedentary because of the physical pain from her hips and legs.
"I started cardiac rehab after my valve replacement, but using stationary bicycles is hurting my hips and legs and I'm in tremendous pain. And the machines that also exercise my arms are hurting my shoulders," she said.
She has decided to consult a pain management specialist who can guide her in how to exercise safely and without pain.
Hegmann said that reducing cardiovascular disease risks "will reduce the risk of ever experiencing one of these common musculoskeletal injuries."
Conversely, "the more of these injuries one develops, the ever-more critical it is to work to control that person's cardiovascular risks."
In fact, the authors suggest, musculoskeletal disorders might be regarded as potential "early warning signals" for cardiovascular disease, since they may appear in someone without apparent heart issues years or even decades before heart symptoms may appear.
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