Mitral Valve Prolapse

The chambers of the human heart are guarded by valves, one of these is the mitral valve; it is one of the four valves separating the four chambers. When one of the cusp or the cusps of the mitral valve bulge into one of the chambers of the heart, it leads to a condition known as a mitral valve prolapse - MVP. This situation is quite common and can occasionally be considered a serious condition; this prolapse of the valve occurs when the heart is contracting. The defects or abnormalities associated with the structure of the mitral valve are the cause of this bulging and the resultant prolapse. Mitral regurgitation is the serious complication of a severe mitral valve prolapse, in this situation the valve is rendered unable to perform its normal functioning and thus is unable to keep the blood from leaking backwards into the wrong chamber of the heart and this may lead to very serious complication and fatalities.

Symptoms are not normally experienced by the majority of people who suffer from MVP. Symptoms such as fainting, lightheadedness, tremor, or difficulty breathing during exertion or when lying down may occur in some other patients; spells of dizziness are also common. Palpitations of the heart and a persistent and dull pain in the chest may also be reported by some patients. Additionally most of the other common symptoms associated with the "fight or flight" response system in the human body may be experienced during the condition. The related condition called dysautonomia syndrome is simply MVP that comes along with these symptoms.

Little or low consumption of salt may be part of the underlying reason as far as people who develop dysautonomia are concerned. This is the reason it is suggested that restriction of the salt intake should not occur as far as people with MVP are concerned and unless otherwise another health problem such as a high blood pressure exists that is worsened by high salt intake. Salt intake must be liberal.

Supplements and herbs

One of the symptoms that occur in association with MVP is the deficiency of the essential mineral magnesium-this mineral is suggested to be essential to the maintenance of a normal mitral valve functioning. This is inferred from a study of people with MVP, where at least 60% of the people who had severe MVP symptoms, showed low blood levels of magnesium. This was further studied on people with MVP where a placebo was used in a double-blind trial, one group was prescribed a placebo and another magnesium-at dosage regimens of 500 mg per day for one week of the trial, this was followed by a reduced dosage of 335 mg of the placebo or magnesium per day for a further four weeks of controlled trial. The test subjects who were given magnesium experienced an appreciable reduction in all the symptoms associated with MVP, these included weakness and chest pain, the levels of anxiety also dropped, so did the symptoms such as shortness of breath, and the palpitations in the heart.

Five people with MVP were found to be deficient in the levels of L-carnitine in another study. In one of these patients at least; a complete remission and resolution of the symptoms of MVP was reported when the patient was given L-carnitine at a dosage rate of 1gram three times every day for a testing period of four months.

What else you can do

Stressful situations should be avoided at all costs by individuals affected by the symptoms of dysautonomia. They should take part in lessons or programs that teach skills on how to cope with stress. Stress is one of the major factors that can aggravate the symptoms and thus its elimination is an important first step in dealing with the condition.