2 questions

[blessed1416]

Hope everyone has heard and agree with the saying that "There is no such thing as a stupid question!" All you fellow valvers seem to be so knowlegeable and my understanding of heart disease is way below your level of understanding. Anyway, here goes:
1. What would happen to a person who ignores symptoms of severe mitral valve regurgitation? Would this person experience a heart attack or would the valve disease advance to the point of causing heart failure? Could severe mitral valve problems cause death?
2. Compared to blocked arteries, are valve problems more severe and more difficult to fix? I know it would depend on the severity of the blockages, and the deterioration of the valve. But just generally speaking is one more severe than the other??
Thanks so much!!!

 

[Georgia]

I had congestive heart failure from my mitral valve; I know I'd be dead now if I hadn't had surgery. So yes, it'll kill you.

I can't address #2 - but ohs for bypass is so much more common, I suspect just by reason of number of surgeries valve work is tougher for most surgeons. btw - 10% of ohs is valve.

 

[Praline]

[1. What would happen to a person who ignores symptoms of severe mitral valve regurgitation? Would this person experience a heart attack or would the valve disease advance to the point of causing heart failure? Could severe mitral valve problems cause death?

I asked my cardiologist a similar question. I was planning on going on a trip over the Christmas holidays. I asked him if I could have a heart attack. I had just been diagnosed with moderate to severe mitral valve regurgitation a few weeks before. He told me that it was quite safe to go on my trip. He said that mitral valve regurgitation was not likeky to cause a sudden heart attack. He said that if the problem was not taken care of, it would lead to congestive heart failure. He said it would depend on how fast the regurgitation progress. Since I had just been diagnosed, there was no way of telling how fast it was progressing. But he felt that it wa simperative to fix/repair the valve before damage was done to my heart thta would not be reversible.

Now when I talked to the surgeon he said that he was pretty confident that it had been there a long time and was never picked up. He said it would be very unusual to get that bad overnight.

When I went in for an angiogram and they found an 80% blockage in the main artery in thr front wall, they felt surgery should be done soon. Since the blockage was " very long and narrow", and I had valve problem, the recommendation was open heart surgery. I was told that a blockage in the spot it was in could cause a heart attack.

If I understood correctly, a mitral valve regurgitation could lead to death but slowly. Blockages could cause a sudden heart attack that could be fatal. If I am wrong in this statement , please feel free to correct me.

 

[gadgetman]

Based on some of the "he said/she said" discussions of late I will clarify my answers that I AM A LAY PERSON, NOT A DOCTOR, NURSE, MEDICAL SPECIALISTS, ETC. With that said, here goes.

1. What would happen to a person who ignores symptoms of severe mitral valve regurgitation? Would this person experience a heart attack or would the valve disease advance to the point of causing heart failure? Could severe mitral valve problems cause death?

Based on my understanding of mitral valve regurgitation, failure to fix this problem will eventually kill you. Your heart will have to work harder and harder to circulate the blood through your system. As any muscle, it will continue to get bigger and bigger. At some point it will not be able to sufficiently move the blood through your body. This means oxygen enriched blood will not be carried to other vital organs. In MY (and only mine) opinion, you will probably get so sick that you would either die or go into a coma. As Praline said, it would probably take a long time but from the sounds of it you probably wouldn't enjoy it very much!!!!

Of course, you could put your faith in the hands of God and hope for a miracle. But I feel God has allowed these guys and gals to LEARN how to fix our problems and therefore feel He wants us to take advantage of their knowledge and skill. I believe in God but I still wouldn't step in front of a truck moving at 55 miles an hour and expect God to just save me outright.

2. Compared to blocked arteries, are valve problems more severe and more difficult to fix? I know it would depend on the severity of the blockages, and the deterioration of the valve. But just generally speaking is one more severe than the other??

I would have to say valve problems are more severe and possibly more difficult to fix. As arteries are on the outside of the heart, opening the heart itself is usually not required. Not so with valves which are INSIDE the heart. Yes, I know they are making strides everyday in valve repair and replacement but I would say most surgeons are still more comfortable with the old "cut open and fix or replace" method. In any surgery there are risks but I would figure having to cut open the heart instead of working around the outside would be more severe.

Maybe some of our more medically knowledgable family will be along after the weekend to give you more.

May God Bless,

Danny

 

[sylviayasgur]

hi praline,
i, too, am no medical professional, but if i have the correct understanding, a blockage is more likely to cause sudden death, whereas the deterioration of the valve's proper functioning will be a slower progression, first leading to chf and other symptoms and then eventual death.

my father had a blockage (85-90%) of the anterior descending artery (which runs down the front of the heart (looks like the outside). even though it seemed to run down the exterior of the heart, he was urged to have the surgery sooner than later. he also needed avr.
they did both simultaneously about a month or so after this diagnosis.
it's been over 5 years and he's fine.

hope this helps.
wishing you all the best,
sylvia

 

[Nancy]

Prior to Joe having his mitral valve replacement, and then his mitral valve repair, he was in very serious condition. He was in congestive heart failure, and could do nothing but sit on the sofa. He was very short of breath. I would imagine that he was in Class 4 CHF. CHF that severe without treatment can cause death, either in a progressive way, or suddenly.

 

[Emma]

Chloe had VERY severe mitral regurg just before her replacement, causing near fatal CHF for her. She couldnt do a thing.
She was very much as Nancy describes Joe to be - she was lethargic, swollen, tired, breathless etc.
When we got her to the hospital on a day when she was particularly bad (and once we'd convinced the doctor how bad she had gotten) they told us that had we not have got her there then, she may not have had more than a couple of hours left.
So yep, mitral regurg if left alone, can kill you.

Emma
xxx

 

[aussiemember]

I have mitral valve regurgitation - which has just progressed to be diagnosed as moderate to severe - and my cardiologist told me that I will need something done within 5 years (could be a lot sooner) otherwise I run the risk of developing heart failure. So there is really no choice - just a matter of deciding the best time to do the surgery. Of course - I am aware that each situation and the rate of progression is probably different.

 

[Debster]

Hi! My mom had both of these problems-and had both fixed at the same time. Her surgery at age 64 came after her mitral valve started to fail big time, causing congestive heart failure. This was after many years of regurgitation and finally it got so bad that, like Joe-she basically could not get off the sofa! Major short of breath, etc. During the cath before the surgery, she had three arteries blocked so she got a triple bypass to boot. It is a medical tightrope to keep her out of chf-but hey-she is still here and even works part time. For her to have made it is such an incredible blessing to me for which I will always be greatful to God for Best wishes to you-Deb

 

[Computec]

MV Regurgitation

MV Regurgitation

I think that once known that a valve is failing it's a major mistake to wait until it becomes absolutely necessary that surgery be performed. By that time overall health can be compromised and the repairing or replacing of the valve made more difficult.

I concur with other posters that moderate to servere regurgitation of the mitral valve can cause the heart to work harder in it's attempt to make up for it's inefficiency. This leads to enlargement and complicates future surgery.

Another issue is that many people have atrial fibrillation. On it's own A-Fib is basically a non-issue. In conjuction with mitral regurgitation it becomes a major issue in that the blood that stands in the left ventrical instead of circulating makes clots. I know this is true because when my own A-Fib paused the clot that had formed was thrown into my brain. Not the best way to discover that you have MV regurg.

Just some facts from my own experience.

Jerry

 

[jimrh]

I waited too long

I waited too long

I had MVRegurg and CHF for a long time before it was diagnosed. We just did not have a habit of visiting Drs. I was starting to experience serious shortness of breath, and chronic coughing caused by my enlarged heart squeezing my lungs. As a result of not having timely surgery, I now have an atrium of about 65 cm instead of the 30 or 35 it should be. The result of that is that I am very prone to have atrial fib. I often wonder if surgery for mechanical MV could have been avoided by early diagnosis. For sure I would have less trouble with a-fib.

Take care of yourself. You are the only person who has full responsibility for it.

Jim

 

[Weezie]

Weezie

Weezie

As a retired adult health ANP, I have to respectfully disagree with Jerry about a fib being a non-issue. While it is true that many people are walking around w/ undiagnosed A fib and are unaware of it, the main issue is that anything that causes blood flow to be irregular, whether or not perceived as discomfort, predisposes to clot formation in the right ventrical, and the BIG sequel is stroke or, as it is being renamed lately, brain attack from a clot fragment that progresses through the lungs - provided it doesn't cause death from pulmonary embolism immediately - into the left ventricle and out into the general circulation where it can then come back and hit the brain or lodge in a coronary artery. Makes a good case for regular check-ups including baseline cardiac imaging for us older folks, say over 40. Never ignore any symptomatic events such as weakness, shortness of breath, palpitations, flu-like synptoms that don't progress to upper respiratory signs such as runny nose, etc., wet lung sounds, frothy cough, very rapid weight gain - anything that you are SURE is not a cold or flu. Valve replacements involve "cracking" the chest and cutting into the heart whereas coronary arteries lie on the surface of the heart muscke and sometimes can be address with "minimally" invasive surgical/scope techniques. Danger from occlusion of a coronary artery depends upon development of collateral circulation (older folks have more and are less likely to die from 1st attack) and which arteries are involved - the left anterior descending artery is not call "the Widowmaker" for no reason. Time is always a factor because it equals in direct proportion to death of muscle tissue when it is an artery problem. You really don't want to have pump problems either way. Remember, denial is not just a river in Egypt when it comes to heart disease!