Conference turris::womannotes-v2

    My sister has a heart murmur, and I was suspected of mitral valve
    prolapse at my AF pre-commissioning physical; they sent me to a
    cardiologist who gave me a very comprehensive examination including
    an echocardiogram, sort of an ultrasound sonar scan of your chest.
    (We watched my heart beating on the monitor, valves opening and 
    closing, it was neat.)  Upshot:  I don't have MVP.
    
    Comments, though: they were certain I did because my sister's condition
    is evidently "related" and they consider heart conditions to be
    hereditarilarly linked.  My sister spent her formative years (ages
    9-19) as a gymnast and thus developed a very strong cardiovascular
    system in her youth which helps her stay stronger now.  I don't
    believe she is at increased risk of infection now but I'll check.
    She should be aware because she just had her first child and came
    through everything very well.  I'm not surprised that you and your
    sister showed the condition at the same time in life, because of
    that hereditary link factor.  Best of luck, and I'll do some more
    checking with my sister.
    
    DougO                   

    There is a brief discussion of this in the MEDICAL notesfile (located
    at GUMMO::MEDICAL).  It is topic number 63.
    
    I have a friend with this condition (Mitral Valve Prolapse) - and
    I have read that it is much more prevalent in women than it is in
    men.
    
    -Jody
    

    I've never heard of Mitral Valve Prolapse before.  Does everybody
    who has a heart murmur have this, or what?  I don't understand.
    
    I've been told I have a heart murmer before, when I've had physicals,
    but I was told it was nothing to worry about.
    
    (I *suppose* I could go into the medical notesfile, but I'd really
    rather not bother.  Reading too much of that type of thing makes
    me sick.)
    
    Lorna
    

    My dad has a heart murmer (not MVP) but has been warned by his
    cardiologist to medicate himself before any medical procedures.
    I don't know if this is just a precaution or what.  Let me explain
    a little more on this topic.  I was experiencing severe heart
    palpitations during the mourning period of my brother-in-law and
    went to the cardiologist to be checked; the first test of course
    is the cardiogram which will not show MVP.  I was then sent to have
    an echocardiogram, which is a sonogram of your heart, I could very
    clearly see what the problem was (I suffered an "attack" during
    the test, which I understand is very common because of the anxiety
    you experience during the test).  There are 2 swinging doors at
    the top of the main artery to your heart that constantly open and
    close simultaneously, in the MVP cases the doors close partially
    and remain on ajar causing too much blood to flow into the heart.
    This is the cause of the discomfort and also the fluttering
    palpitations.  I was given Inderol (??sp) to help control this but
    I really don't like to take heart medication if at all possible.
    Since I learned what the problem was and that it isn't life
    threatening, I do not get myself all worked up when I get an attack.
    What I do is sit back and try to calm my nerves, take deep breaths
    and within a few minutes the flutter will go away.  I find that
    when I am stressed out at work (I am a secretary) I will get the
    flutter, that's when I tell my boss to take a flying leap!!
    

    My mom has MVP, as do her sisters.  My mom was recently diagnosed,
    during a "standard" stress test.  She's never had any type of attacks.
     Her doctor said that it is not uncommon for someone to have MVP
    without knowing it.  
    
    MVP is hereditary, especially on the female
    side.  My sister and I are both at risk for MVP, but as far as we
    know, we don't have it.  
    
    My mom does have to take antibiotics before
    any dental work, but that's her only restriction.  The doctor said
    that she is not at any greater risk of a heart attack because of
    the MVP.  My parents are very active, and they have not had to alter
    their lifestyle because of the MVP.
    
    From what my mom has told us, MVP is fairly common, and is not
    life-threatening.                  
    
    I hope this helps.
    
    Good luck,
    Carol
         

    My husband and his sister both have MVP.  The only problem he's had
    with it was the fear (before it was diagnosed) that he had serious 
    heart trouble.  Now that he knows what it is he doesn't worry about
    it.  In fact, he calls it his stress indicator, because he only feels
    it when he's under stress, and he takes it as a sign to calm/slow
    down. 
    
    Karen.

    I have MVP.  My doctor said that she could prescibe Inderol to get
    rid of the palpitations, or I could just ignore them.  I chose to
    just ignore them, and now I notice when it starts to happen, and
    then just ignore it, and I seem to forget about it.  The only problem
    I have is that it is a pain to have to remember to take penicillin
    before a dentist appointment.  For my last appointment, I forgot
    all about it, and had to reschedule the appointment.  Now, I've
    asked the dentist to put a note on the little postcard they send
    out to remind me to take my penicillin.
    
    As I understand it, it is a very common condition among women. 
    
    Cathy

    I, too, have MVP, as does my mother and one sister. (We suspect
    my identical twin does too, but she hasn't had an echocardiogram
    to confirm it). My husband, too has the condition.
    
    From my doctor's explanation, MVP is a congenital, hereditary condition
    -- not something that just appears.  Often, it is described as a
    hear murmur, because the clicking sound is faintly detectable by
    stethoscope.  The clicking is not also discernable, however, which
    explains why many people are "suddenly" diagnosed after years of
    nothing heard.  An echo is really the confirmation test.
                                                      
    MVP can produce palpitations, anxiety, and what is medically called
    "non-causal chest pain".  Many, my husband and I included, feel
    no symptoms. 
    
    There are 2 schools of thought on penicillin; one advocating the
    use of it and the other not seeing the need.  My doctor feels it
    doesn't hurt to be on the safe side, and so encourages me to take
    penicillin before dental work (my dentist also recommends it), and
    for any other surgery. During the labor and delivery of my son,
    I was automatically put on a penicillin IV. She has never, though, 
    required me to take penicillin for a PAP smear.
    
    I rarely think about having "the condition" except when giving
    medical history.
    
    Take care and don't worry!
    --Lynn
    
    

    I also have a note in the medical file regarding MVP.  My Cardiologist
    has required me to be medicated for any medical procedure i.e. dental
    work, pap smear, cystoscope/dilation and also last year I had a
    fungus under my fingernails and the Dermotologist had to remove
    3 nails, he wouldn't even come near me until I had assured him that
    I had taken the antibotics.  If you have this condition, I would
    suggest medicating yourself as a precaution.  An infection in your
    heart is terrible and could be prevented with some antibotics.
    

    I have it also and wasn't concerned until I started reading "notes"
    about it! :-)
    
    Anyway, I've always had a 'quick beat' in that I would notice that
    my breathing would sort of "stop" and I would have to catch my breath.
    It got really bad last fall when I caught a virus--the 'thunk' was
    really noticeable and didn't go away for 6 weeks or so.
    
    One of the most important things my dr. told me about it is that
    studies show that women with MVP tend to get *anxiety attacks*
    as well.  (I know it's all stress related.) BUT the point is that
    it's the MVP that causes the "threatening doom" feeling.  It's
    actually a physical feeling that, of course, makes the anxiety
    even worse.  I was glad to hear that anxiety is not always all in
    the head but can be phsyical as well.
    
    Maria
    

    	i too, have been diagnosed as having this heart condition.  i went 
in for a thorough exam after experiencing chest pains...(reply .6 was 
my exact thoughts both before and after diagnosis).  i now recognize the 
oncoming fullness (the pain) and relax, take slow deep breaths, concentrate 
on reducing the stress at those moments.
	from what my doctor told me after discovering my PVM...  the 
occurence of this condition affects both women and men, with no particular 
preference for either sex, however associated most of the time with a 
prolapsed valve is the size of a persons heart.  the doctor explained this 
by meaning, the condition is very common among people with large sized 
hearts, typically what he referred to as a "bovine heart".  he went on to 
say that alot of athletes (esp. basketball players) have this condition.
my doctor also believes in the prescription and use of antibiotics/
penicillin for such routine things as dental check-ups.
	an interesting personal phenomena (??) about my own PVM...  i am an 
exercise conscious person and workout on a regular basis.  sometimes when i 
can feel the chest tightness, i go for a workout and during the 
cardiovascular routine, the tightness goes away for long periods of time.
i have heard about exercising adding "good stress" and the body's release of
pain-blockers, but i have not heard anything that supports why the long term 
cessation of pain.  the reverse is also true.  if i have skipped 
or messed up my normal exercise routine, then i start to get anxious and 
begin to feel the tightness.  i keep a motto, "learn to exercise regularly 
for the rest of your life".   

    Scott

    My sister-in-law recently spent 6 weeks in the N.E. Medical Center.
    She too has MVP, although she was not aware of it.  She'd had some
    dental work done in the fall and after that she began to go downhill.
    Losing weight, not feeling well, loss of hair, etc.  By Christmas,
    she was looking rather grim - she was plunked into the NE Med Ctr,
    where they discovered MVP - her hart was completely infected and
    she began a long road to recovery.  She is doing much better now, however,
    she has damaged the valves to her hart and is a POTENTIAL future
    open-hart surgery patient.  I rather doubt she will ever have any
    medical work done without taking penecillin.  I should add that
    she is only 30 and has also licked Hodgekins Disease.  On one of
    my visits to the hospital, she told me that having the hart infection
    was not her greatest worry, but that her physician informed her that
    from the time of her dental appointment to her hopital stay (approx
    4 months) she could have had an aneurysm.  I think I'd take the
    penecillin - being safe is always far better than being sorry.
    Hope I've helped.
    

	I've been having MVP symptoms for the last 6 months or so (sharp pains)
and decided to have it checked out. I had an echocardiogram and an EKG done,
and the echocardiogram confirmed the diagnosis. The doctor told me that the
condition occurs in 10% of the population, and it is nothing to worry about
as long as I take penicillen before going to the dentist. He even said to
take it before childbirth! He told me that if I don't premedicate, then I
run a risk of getting a heart infection, which would put me in the hospital
for 6 weeks or so, and possibly damage the valves. Let the previous message
be a warning...take the penicillen and be safe, rather than sorry.

					Lisa

    What if you are allergic to penicillin?
    
    I'm glad I don't have this particular health problem; I am allergic to
    most of these bacteria-killing drugs anyhow.  I'm not really very
    convinced that it is doing the world at large a favor by doctors
    prescribing these drugs for non-bacterial infections since I think that
    helps speed up the development of bacteria that are immune to the
    various drugs.  Yet if you go to the doctor with a cold, you will come
    home with erythromycin or whatnot, just in case you run into a
    bacterial disease while you are recovering from the viral one.