Mitral Valve Disease

When the mitral valve that is located in between your left chambers (left atrium and left ventricle) does not work properly it is called mitral valve disease.

There are two types of mitral valve disease:

• mitral valve stenosis when the mitral valve become stiff and may fuse together,
• mitral valve regurgitation that can result to heart muscle damage.

The symptoms of mitral valve disease may vary depending on the problem of your valve.

Some of the symptoms are:

• coughing;
• fatigue and tiredness;
• lightheadedness and shortness of breathe especially when exercising or lying down;
• pain and tightness in your chest.

These symptoms might get worse if your body is dealing with stress, pregnancy or infection.

The causes of mitral valve disease may vary depending on its type.

The causes of mitral valve stenosis may include:

• Rheumatic fever,
• calcium buildup,
• blood clots,
• tumors,
• radiation treatment,
• congenital heart defects.

The causes of mitral valve regurgitation may include:

• heart attack,
• rheumatic fever,
• endocarditis which is the inflammation of the heart’s lining and valves,
• damage to the tissue cords of your heart,
• wear and tear to your mitral valve.

Making a diagnosis of mitral valve disease is done by performing several tests.

To diagnose your symptoms, your doctor may listen to your heart beat using your stethoscope.

Imaging tests may include:

• echocardiogram,
• X-ray,
• cardiac catheterization,
• transesophageal;
• some test to monitor heart activity such as electrocardiogram and holter monitoring,
• your doctor may also use stress tests.

There are no medications for treating mitral valve disease.

Your doctor might recommend some medications that can ease the symptoms or to prevent them from getting worse. These medications may treat abnormal heart rhythms, slow your heart rate, thin your blood or reduce accumulation of fluid in your lungs.

In mitral valve stenosis he might use balloon valvuloplasty to open the valve and surgery to repair your existing mitral valve or they might need to replace it with a new one.

There is no prevention for mitral valve regurgitation while in mitral valve stenosis you can prevent it by not having a Rheumatic fever.

There is no homeopathic remedy for mitral valve regurgitation while the homeopathic treatments for mitral valve stenosis are:

• Apocynum vannabium,
• cactus grandiflorus,
• crategus oxyacantha,
• laurocerasus,
• strophanthus hispidus.

Lifestyle modifications are necessary in order to cope with mitral valve disease.

Your doctor may recommend these to improve your quality of life:

• Eat a healthy diet,
• keep your blood pressure under control,
• do not drink too much alcohol,
• prevent infective endocarditis,
• maintain a healthy weight,
• exercise regularly,
• see your physician regularly.

Some of the complications of mitral heart disease are:

• heart valve problems,
• heart enlargement,
• heart failure,
• lung congestion,
• blood clot.