Mitral Valve Prolapse - My Journey

First of all, it took all my will and courage to come out and tell my story. But I did it because I think I have to. No, I am not the shy type of person. I just can't stand dramas. That is why I seldom watch soaps. I hate being pitied upon and I am well sure I don't want to evoke any. I just want to let it all out. And here I am, telling about the circumstance that changed my life forever.

It started with a feeling of intense exhaustion after doing an exercise one night February of last year, particularly crunches. I was about less than 20 pounds short of my 130-pound ideal weight goal. I used to be 185 pounds 6 months before that so I already lost about 40 pounds at that time and there’s no stopping me. Until MVP slapped me in the face really hard.

After my crunches, I felt so fatigued like I never felt before. Short of collapsing. That bad. But I blamed it on the exercise and my diet. So I just slept it off as I would have my first day at my new work the following day and I was so excited. The morning came. I felt different. Felt really weird and a little bit of chest pain. Again, I blamed it on something else. I haven’t had milk in a long while and I drank a glass that morning. Okay, acid reflux.

By noon, I felt bloated and it seems like something was putting pressure on my chest. I want to burp but I can’t even if I forced it. It made me feel helpless even more. By that time I felt dizzy and light-headed. And because I was hypertensive, I thought my blood pressure was just elevated at that time.

To make the long story short, I did not finish a day at work. I begged to go home by lunch time and took a cab to get home. Clocking half day in my effin’ first day at my new company! So I prepared myself to get the pink slip from my new boss the next morning. I didn’t. But I did not feel any better in any day after that. So I ended up tendering my resignation after three months but my employer did not receive it until my sixth month.

Every day was a struggle. It was like feeling 5:00 pm at 8:00 am. During those times, the fatigue and chest pains were coupled with shortness of breath. So I would always carry with me an inhaler. I am not sure if it helped. I just felt more relaxed with it. Then came the palpitations. So bad I felt my heart is going to pop out of my chest. And no amount of sleep or rest could relax my heart.

I have had my heart and overall health checked several times by different doctors for over six months but they could not find any issue as all my blood works, X-rays, and EKG was perfect. But I would often run to emergency rooms when I felt extreme chest pains and shortness of breath. And I’ve been there at least six times in six months that the ER doctor and nurses no longer took me seriously and blamed it either on my acid reflux because of GERD and Hiatal Hernia (as I’ve had it for six years and was detected through an endoscopy) or my panic attack. But seriously, who wouldn’t panic with a chest pain and shortness of breath?

By December, as if I didn’t feel worst yet, I felt very tired walking a few blocks after I brought my son to school. I went to see two different cardiologists after that and was again told there’s nothing wrong with me based on the EKG and blood chemistry results. They told me to just relax and take a rest. I told them I have been jobless for six months! If that’s not enough rest to them, I don’t know what is!

I know there is really something wrong with me so I tried hard to find a doctor who would believe me when I say I do not feel well. I went for another EKG but because I thought the procedure was already finished, I moved my head forward ready for the electrodes in my chest to be removed only to find out that the EKG machine was still running until I heard the concluding sound. The technician instructed me not to move beforehand while we were doing it and since she didn’t see that I was actually short of getting up, I just let that be and did not tell her.

That proved to be a blessing in disguise. The EKG reading revealed “Left Axis Deviation” that when I presented it to my Cardiologist, he requested for a 2D echocardiogram right away. Why a blessing? It’s because while waiting for the result of the 2D echo for a few days, I went to have a repeat EKG and as always, a normal reading. That one slip in judgment paved the way to the wrong EKG reading that prompted my doctor to look further.

Credits to Mayo Foundation for the picture

The 2D echocardiogram result came. The findings: SEVERE MITRAL VALVE REGURGITATION, LEFT VENTRICULAR HYPERTROPHY AND DILATED LEFT ATRIUM. It was mixed emotions for me. I was scared to death knowing that I have a heart issue as I was very athletic and very active growing up. I was worried for my six-year-old son. At the same time, I was also relieved because finally, I knew what was wrong with me and the guessing game is over.

Mitral valve prolapse is the cause of a heart murmur. Through the stethoscope, instead of the usual sound “dub-dub”, you could hear “dub-swoosh”. That is because the heart valve particularly the mitral valve is leaking. Instead of the blood going out its usual way after the valve pumps, it leaks back, therefore, denying some parts of the body their supply of blood. Since the heart feels it is not supplying enough, it pumps double time thereby overworking the heart muscle which could lead to dilation and eventually heart failure.

Typical symptoms of MVP are fatigue, shortness of breath, lightheadedness, chest pains, ankle swelling due to water retention, and in my case, I also experience insufficient blood flow in my hands when lying down causing numbness, although I am not really sure if it is really associated with MVP.

Unfortunately, there’s not a single natural method or medication that could reverse the MVP especially if the regurgitation level is already severe. The only option left is to either repair or replace the mitral valve through an open heart surgery.

But the symptoms can be addressed by some medications like diuretics or water pills to reduce the swelling, beta-blockers for the elevated heart rate, and some supplements like MAGNESIUM TAURATE which, based on research is best in addressing palpitations and irregular heartbeats; and CoQ10 which is said to be beneficial for persons who suffer heart failure.

I have already accepted that this is my fate. I know I need to face surgery sooner or later. But being a single mother and jobless for a long time, until recently, getting funds for the surgery seems like a Mount Everest to climb. But I know, God will provide.

It is understandable to be scared and anxious with this situation. But I always remind myself that this is not the end of the world. That I am just a surgery away from complete healing.

It is also important to surround yourself with people who understand your situation because it is not easy. You may find yourself get annoyed easily, mainly because of not feeling well and perhaps out of frustrations. So it is important to be around people who could keep up with your temper flare-ups.

If they are very hard to find these days, turn to support groups in social media. I have joined a few good communities on Facebook like Cease to Murmur and Living with Mitral Regurgitation. They could put your mind at ease knowing you are not alone because there are a lot of people who feel the same way you do. You could also get tips and pointers especially from members who have already undergone open heart surgeries. You’ll get through your anxiety talking to those people just like I did.

Right now I keep myself busy doing an online job as an article writer. I have also recently put up this personal blog site hoping to generate passive income from it in the near future through advertising and affiliate marketing. Who knows, it could someday provide me the funds I need for my surgery. Fingers crossed!

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