Heart murmur vs. mitral valve prolapse

jpos

From what I read a murmur is a whooshing sound that is either from regurgitation, stenosis, or innocent (healthy heart). It seems that the next step would be an echo to find the cause, but I am not a dr. There is good info on Medline's dictionary under heart murmur, here is the link: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003266.htm

started04

Hi Georgette,
A heart mumur may or may not be serious, MVP is serious and requires intervention. Both conditions relate to the left ventricle, left atrium, and the mitral valve. Many people have some regurg throughout their lives and the doc will watch for change if any. Usually there are no symptoms.

If the regurgitation is chronic, moderate to severe, there will be an enlargement of the left ventricle (pumping chamber) and left atrium (blood rec'd from lungs). This enlargement will be to compensate for less blood output but the compensation can't continue as a consequence there will be an enlargement and distortion of the valve opening, the leaflets that should close properly will fail as well as the muscle attachments (hinges). As MR worsens the attachments will no longer elongate but will finally rupture leading to increased MR and prolapsed leaflets.

jpos

MVP isn't always serious and most often doesn't require intervention (most people don't go on to needing surgery), but needs to be followed. I have MVP w/MR and TR and mine isn't serious.

parabellum

heart murmur is sign that the doctors can hear using stethoscope, MVP is one of many conditions that will cause the murmur.

ie, high termperature is symptom, flu is the cause.

the_coder

I have MVP and basically I go in to see the cardiologist every 6 months and we test and keep an eye on it. I found out about it 3 years ago and since my situation has actually improved through weight loss and a healthy diet so hopefully I'll never need intervention.

trekgirl

My own experience is heart murmur, which I was born with, is a leak in a valve. It can be progressive to a point of replace at some time. MVP is just as serious, but a different major problem. You need to talk with your Cardio to get a better understand of your heart condition and current status. Heart murmur are cause in different ways, genetic, infection, rheumatic fever. Please talk with your cardio and reafirm your present condition and staus.

jpos

You can check this link out to get it straight from Cleveland Clinic's cardios, use their search option: http://www.*******.org/perl6/cardio/wwwboard.html Hmmm, ok, it isn't allowing the link, sorry. Do a search on cardio forums to find it is all I can think. Why wouldn't they allow a link for educational purposes?

GatsbyLuvr1920

A heart murmur is an irregular heartbeat that can be caused by many things: a defective valve, an absent valve/chamber, etc. I'm not an expert on mitral valve prolapse, but I think it has something to do with the mitral valve being unable to pump the blood incorrectly. What I do know is that the mitral valve (or bicuspid valve) is very crucial in the heart because it delivers the blood to the aorta, which in turns takes oxygenated blood to the body. If there's a faulty mitral valve, the body doesn't get enough oxygen, and angina may ensue. I also know that MVP is sometimes more serious than a murmur, but as far as what MVP ACTUALLY is, I don't know the specifics...Also, if you have either one of these conditions, definitely go to a cardiologist regularly so he/she can make note of significant changes.
-GatsbyLuvr1920-

__________________
"Not everything that steps out of line, and thus 'abnormal,' must necessarily be 'inferior.'"
-Hans Asperger

born2bwild

through out my life i was told on occassion that i had a heart murmer but was never told why or it was never indicated to be a concern. The last 5 years i have had increasingly bad health and just recently they found a hole in my heart (ASD) which i am now having repaired.

starsofglass

I have a very mild mitral valve prolapse, but no murmur. The doc said that the valve still works perfectly, so this probably means I don't have regurgitation?

jpos

I have mild MVP according to several echos, but according to a TEE it is just buckling (each echo was read by a different cardio). With all of them, even tho it's just mild, I have regurgitation. I have tricuspid regurg, too. I don't have a murmur, either.

starsofglass

What my doc described as prolapse sounds like the "buckling" you mentioned... He said it went in the "wrong" direction, against the direction of the blood flow. But when he said the valve still works well, I presumed he meant that it still closed. If I had regurgitation, wouldn't he have said anything about antibiotics when having dental surgery etc? Or does it have to be a bad case of regurgitation for that?

jpos

It seems that some won't mention or recommend antibiotics, while others do. My cardio didn't say antibiotics until one echo erroneously said myxomatous valve, but after the TEE he said I didn't need them. However, his partner, who isn't an ep, but a reg (possibly interventional) cardio said I did. My dentist said as long as I am with him I will have to take the antibiotics and I have other drs. who don't care that my cardio said I didn't need them, they see MVP and regurg and that's all they need. According to the AHA it says regurgitation. Look up bacterial endocarditis on the AHA website. Prolapse goes the wrong way, too (so to speak), it billows backwards as if opening and that is how the regurg happens.
I hope that helps some.

born2bwild

I have a heart murmur that is caused from a hole in my heart and as a result of the hole in my heart, i have slight regurgitation of all my valves but need a repair of my tricuspid valve. I am having the hole and valve repaired in a couple of weeks. They should monitor your heart murmur and valve leakage to be aware of any further progress.