Mitral Valve Prolapse: Is it Benign or Serious?

Dear Ask The Doctor: Hii i am 32 years old female have 2 children youngest 4 years old i had a totally normal life but i used to be always over the edge very nervous and always shouting and screaming and thinking too much of every detail...one month ago i started to notice that my heart races and i m out of breath and very dizzy like i m going to faint i rushed to the er and made all labs and ecg and echo the labs were fine i did thyroid profile and vma screening test both were normal then abdominal sonar and chest ct all came back normal.. the ecg just showed tachycardia of 90 bpm then the echo showed mitral valve prolapse and trivial mitral regurge with trivial left atrial dilatation.. my doctor prescribed procoralan 5 mg twice and xanax once at night he told me my echo was normal and nothing to worry about...and that 40% of females live with this condition unnoticed, then i did a holter it showed normal sinus rhythm with episodes of tachycardia up to 130 bpm and few pacs one pvc ,,yet the doctor says this is very normal and that it is due to stress, i m really afraid i feel i m going to die i live alone with my kids and i m afraid a might die or faint and leave them i cry all time i do't know am i going to live like that all my life i was totally ok one month ago the lightheadness scares me to death and i have variable chest pains too i m afraid i might get AF or myocardial infarction...can i excercise.... i feel breathless and dizzy few min after starting to walk please please help me.....please i 4got to say i tried inderal but made me worse nas made my blood pressur lower and much dizziness occured please help me...i m sooooo worried tnx in advance

I understand that since you were diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse, it has affected your way of life in a way. This condition is a benign congenital anomaly and more common in females. Most individuals are asymptomatic throughout their lifetime, meaning, they have no symptoms at all. Some may have occasional difficulty of breathing associated w/ strenuous exercise and stress. Echocardiography usually shows some trivial regurge (backflow); most, if not all, normal individuals who undergo Echo scan will have this. Mild mitral valve prolapse usually don’t cause future problems. If it is severe, it may cause heart failure. In fact, some women (like you) with mitral valve prolapse go through pregnancy and childbirth (situations with very high physical demands on the heart) with no symptoms at all, then diagnosed later in life after child-bearing years and are still asymptomatic. What I am trying to say is mild mitral valve prolapse is a very benign condition; trivial regurge is also normal and there is little need to worry about it. If prior to this diagnosis, your heart has very well tolerated your lifestyle, 2 pregnancies and childbirth, then again, there is little need to worry. At the risk of sounding redundant, you may have had this heart anomaly since birth but you had no symptoms or signs. Don’t you think it is strange that your dizziness, difficulty of breathing and chest pains is only apparent now AFTER you were diagnosed w/ mild mitral valve prolapse? And you did not have these symptoms while you were pregnant and giving birth? I honestly think most of your issues are anxiety-related. Maybe you are having more frequent anxiety attacks since you were diagnosed with mitral valve prolapsed; most if your symptoms are consistent (dizziness, difficulty of breathing, feels like you’re going to die). I would suggest, though, for you to try relaxation techniques (e.g. yoga, meditation) for your severe anxiety. That could be a possible cause of your symptoms. I also suggest for you to continue taking your maintenance medications (procoralan and xanax). As long as you are taking these and you are having regular follow-ups with your doctor, you will be okay. You may also ask your doctor if he/she wants to increase the dose of Xanax so your anxiety will be in control. If your doctor suggests yearly follow up for this heart condition, it will also be a good idea. This is, of course, done on a case to case basis. I hope this has enlightened you in some way. Take care always.