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Can Mitral Valve Prolapse Be Cured?

Mitral valve prolapse is a heart condition, in which the mitral valve is present between both the left chambers of the heart, prolapses into the upper left chamber, that is, the left atrium. This can cause some backflow of blood and can cause symptoms like dyspnea and fatigue in some.[1]

Can Mitral Valve Prolapse Be Cured?

Can Mitral Valve Prolapse Be Cured?

Mitral valve prolapse does not require any treatment in most cases. However, if the symptoms are severe, or if there is a severe regurgitation, with or without symptoms, your doctor may recommend surgery to improve your heart functioning, reduce your symptoms and prevent any future complications. Cure is obtained either through valve repair or valve replacement.[2]

People diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse usually do not present with any symptoms. As a result, most people do not require any kind of treatment.

In mild to moderate cases of mitral valve prolapse, depending upon the severity of the symptoms, your doctor may recommend medications or surgery. With a proper line of treatment and procedure, mitral valve prolapse can be cured. However, you will still require a regular monitoring of your heart’s condition, even when the problem is corrected.

Treatment Strategy For Mitral Valve Prolapse

Medications For Mitral Valve Prolapse

Your doctor may recommend certain medications if your condition is treatable with them. These medicines will take care of your symptoms like chest pain, abnormal heart rhythm etc. some of the medicines are given below-

Beta blockers

  • These drugs make your heart beat more slowly and with a less force and thus help in preventing irregular heartbeats
  • This will reduce your blood pressure
  • These medicines also help in relaxing and opening of blood vessels and improve blood flow[3]

Diuretics

Popularly known as water pills,[4] these medicines help in removing excess fluid from the body

Anti-arrhythmic medication

These medicines help in controlling the heart rhythm by controlling electrical signals in heart tissue[5]

Anti-coagulants

  • Also known as blood thinners, these medicines prevent the blood from clotting
  • These are especially recommended in conditions like atrial fibrillation or a history of heart failure
  • However, they should be taken with utmost precaution and only on recommendation of the cardiologist, as they can have dangerous side-effects[6]

Surgery For Mitral Valve Prolapse

Most of the people suffering from mitral valve prolapse do not need any treatment, and even less people need surgery to treat their condition. However, if you suffer from severe mitral valve regurgitation, your doctor may recommend surgery, if you have or do not have symptoms.

Mitral valve prolapse causes mitral valve regurgitation. A regurgitation of severe degree can cause heart failure and then, your heart cannot pump blood effectively. Also, if regurgitation is unattended for too long, the heart may become too weak to tolerate any heart surgery.

When a surgery is recommended, there are two options- mitral valve repairing or replacement. There are two ways to do this- open heart surgery or minimally-invasive surgery. Minimally invasive surgeries result in a lesser blood loss and a quicker healing and recovery.[7]

Valve repair

  • In this surgery, your own valve is preserved
  • In most cases, this is the preferred method of correction of the problem
  • This can be done by valvuloplasty which means that the surgeon modifies the original valve or annuloplasty, which means that the annulus- a ring like structure that connects the valve to the heart muscle- is repaired or replaced

Valve replacement

  • This is done when valve repair and preserving your own valve is not possible
  • In this surgery, the damaged valves are replaced by artificial valves which are mechanical or tissue valves
  • Mechanical valves last for a very long time, but you need to take blood thinners for the rest of your lives, whereas tissue valves are made from animal tissue like pig valve or cow valve and do not last longer and may need replacement again.[8] However, you do not need to take blood thinners for long-term with animal tissue valves.

References:

Also Read:

Team PainAssist
Team PainAssist
Written, Edited or Reviewed By: Team PainAssist, Pain Assist Inc. This article does not provide medical advice. See disclaimer
Last Modified On:August 4, 2022

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