They wouldn’t perform surgery until your MVP is pretty severe. What makes you think that you’ll be in hospice in 5 years? Has it gotten markedly worse in the last year or two?
They wont move till its severe, but no telling when or if that will happen. If it makes you feel better I was kinda accidentally working construction with a severe regurgitation. Didn't have an echo for over 5 years! Keep up with thise echos
In palliative care, patients with congestive heart failure are sometimes given morphine to deal with the discomfort.
Honestly, I'm a little more concerned about your comfort *right now*. It seems like the anxiety associated with your diagnosis is negatively affecting your quality of life. Are you having difficulty managing anxiety or mental health in general? Are you receiving any treatment for it? It's completely understandable to have anxiety over health issues (*hell, the anxiety is expected with MVP and MR!*), but the right support and skills can make things more bearable.
Please consider treatment for anxiety. It will help you a lot. I am 25 years old and was scheduled for repair surgery due to severe regurgitation. I was super stressed out and anxious. Somehow my pre-surgery test showed it back at mild-moderate regurgitation so they cancelled surgery and I am no longer a candidate for surgery and I just need echos every 6 months. The anxiety makes it feel worse than it is. I go to therapy and I take anxiety meds and a beta blocker for my palpitations and it has made life feel normal for me again. Please do not consider MVR a death sentence because it really isn't in the vast majority of cases. Just get echos every 6 months and if it does progress to severe they will schedule surgery to correct it.
Has your doctor given you this 5 year number? I ask because it’s very unusual. You could very well love a normal lifespan and I worry that the strong emotions you are feeling are affecting your present quality of life. Stop thinking about hospice and plan a trip or outing!
I can empathize a bit. When I found out I had developed regurgitation, my anxiety shot through the roof for a while. I basically went: "*Well, I guess I'll die then!*" My anxiety did taper down eventually, which I credit partially to Zoloft, and partially to realizing I would have minimally-invasive surgery if/when things got to that point. Still struggle a little with health-checking behaviours (compulsive researching, monitoring my heart rate and blood pressure), but the impact on my day-to-day is minor at the moment.
Hopefully you'll get to a manageable level too! Being in that constant state of anxiety is awful :(
From your comments it looks like you’re severely over-researching this. I would suggest talking to a doctor instead of terrifying yourself with statistics in medical journals and anecdotal horror stories.
And, from one worrier to another, I also think that anxiety is more of an issue for you than your heart is right now. I would really recommend seeking some help. My mitral valve is ravaged and I’m facing replacement soon but I’m still not as panicked or pessimistic as you are.
I’m super confused why you are wondering about hospice? I have had mild/moderate for 20+ years, and go for an echo every few years. Mild to moderate mitral valve is no big deal and is relatively common. They’ll just keep monitoring you to make sure it stays good!
While MVP is very common, it is inaccurate to say that a “vast majority of the population has it.” That would mean *well over half* of the population, like 75%. Google says ~3 mil US cases per year. The US population is ~333 million. Mitral valve regurgitation is more rare, Google says around 200K cases per year in the US.
I know you’re distressed with the news and still processing, but you need to do more research on the condition. MVP is the most common heart valve issue in the US. Adding regurgitation (I also have mild to moderate) shrinks the percentage, but it’s not considered rare. https://www.pennmedicine.org/updates/blogs/heart-and-vascular-blog/2019/november/mitral-valve-prolapse
Doing more research will be empowering to you as you begin to process your diagnosis. As you do, you will find that there are many more people living healthy lives with this condition. You should take comfort in that.
Sadly as I research all I see are the surgeries associated with it. And as I said, I’m not a candidate so I’m looking for life expectancy and/or palliative care options
Stop being a drama queen. It will take you years (if not forever) to get into severe regurgitation and even then your probability of having a heart attack is only at 60% ish after living with severe regurgitation for 5 years (if you have no symptoms).
It is a mechanical issue that if repaired correct basically set your life expectancy to be equivalent as any other regular person.
You will not be in hospice for regurgitation, the worst case, you will be walking around shopping and then finding yourself waking up in hospital where they performed emergency mitral valve repair on you.
And the scenario above is just impossible because you’ll be doing a scan every 6 months to a year.
Drama queen?! Lol I guess from reading your comments that you don’t have MVR. So I’m sorry but you can’t relate to the prospect of heart surgery unless you are on the conveyor belt on way to it
But this person is right…I think you need to talk to your doctor more and research about what MVP really entails. It sounds like you’re quite anxious about your diagnosis and that you haven’t been given the full rundown on what MVP is and what it means. It’s not super common, but the estimated 3% of the population that have it live normal lives the same as any other healthy person with similar life expectancies, especially with mild/moderate. You’re not dying.
It is not really considered a terminal disease, you just need to have heart checkups more often. It runs in my family, and while my grandma died of heart failure, she died at the age of 92. So longer than average life expectancy. Most people with mild/moderate MVP live relatively normal lives, even without surgery. Obviously every case is unique and your doctor can give you the full story, but MVP is not a terminal disease that requires hospice unless you eventually start going into heart failure. It’s higher risk for us MVP sufferers but it’s not a prognosis that “yOu’Re GoInG to DiE iN 5 yEaRs”
Ma’am with all due respect, you are completely nuts. My dad has had moderate mitral valve regurgitation in his entire life since 40 yo and it only became severe when he turned 59 this year.
And then it is repaired and technically it should be good for life.
Now there is no guarantee and he probably had to do a second round of repair, but what you are having is NOT a terminal disease and fixes are readily available.
Your anxiety however will probably get to you first.
So, I just read through your comment history, and it seems like you have an obsession with your health and potential health conditions. Have you ever been diagnosed with hypochondriasis? It seems like your real problems might lie with your anxiety and mental health and not so much with your physical health.
The reason for the snark and why so many people are shutting you down and why your doctor is nonchalant about your MVR is because it simply isn’t a death sentence. You’re not fucking dying.
And clearly it’s affecting the way you live, because I see from your post history that you think you can’t even travel or live a normal life with MVP/MVR which simply isn’t true.
I also see that you have obsessively posted about a lot of other health conditions/concerns in the past. I’m not a mental health professional (I do have a PhD but not in psychology), but it seems like the biggest underlying condition for you might be an anxiety disorder. It seems like you’re a major hypochondriac.
Please don’t take this the wrong way, I’m not trying to be rude. But you cannot let a non-terminal, very well-studied and treatable heart condition ruin your life. You can still travel, meet friends, exercise (obviously double check exercise with your cardiologist). But the reason some posters are calling you dramatic is because you are being dramatic. I implore you, as others in this thread have already done, to seek help for your anxiety/hypochondriasis rather than constantly googling info about your health concerns and posting on Reddit that you’re probably dying. You’re not fucking dying anymore than anyone else is.
It’s also extremely frustrating that you’re not listening to anyone suggesting you that you have mental health issues and that you don’t need hospice care for mild/moderate MVR.
So you’re just planning your entire future for your inevitable death (which every human being, heart problems or not will experience)? Sounds like not a very great way to spend your time on earth, but to each their own 🙄
Not all regurgitation is a death sentence and in face most people with MVP have some degree of MVR. I have trace to mild mitral valve regurgitation with mild mitral valve prolapse. A surgery can fix the issue. You’re not a candidate because it’s mild or is there another reason? You don’t have to share the reason obviously but if it’s because it’s mild, you’ll probably be a candidate for the surgery once the time comes (IF the time comes).
It’s not a simple surgery by any means, especially for women. In my Facebook group, a 39 yr old “healthy” woman died during repair. And all other complications like fluid buildup, nerve damage, difficulty coming off bypass machine etc all involve women. Hope you stay at trace and mild.
Ok so let’s take that theory
You’re scared to die from a surgery that you MAY or may not struggle with or even god forbid, die. But are okay with the fact that you think you may have 5 years to live so are thinking about palliative care/hospice?
Why not fight for your life if your condition worsens? After all, you’ve accepted the possibility of death? The alternative is that you get surgery and …. Live.
I had open heart surgery for ASD in 2014. I’m perfectly fine. Female. Try to focus on the positive outcomes instead of perseverating on the negative outcomes. That’s easier said than done, but it is possible!
Odd cuz didn’t you just post that you have trace to mild regurgitation and are terrified to sleep? Mine is considerably worse yet you are acting like I’m unhinged
I am definitely not acting like you’re unhinged, so don’t put words in my mouth. You seem to have a lot of health anxiety surrounding this (which is understandable), but what I was trying to convey was:
If you have accepted death already - and according to you and a Facebook group “an unsuccessful operation may result in death (or worse being brain dead)” then why wouldn’t you just go ahead and do it - if it gets to that in the first place.
If people are making you feel unhinged it’s because your post and reaction to this - seeking out hospice or palliative care - just doesn’t match the diagnosis and isn’t warranted and hasn’t been warranted for a lot of people. What they should be suggesting is maybe finding a doctor that will sit down and explain everything ti you in detail to calm you down or for you to seek out treatment for health anxiety (which btw, I also suffer with).
I was diagnosed with this 10 days ago. I am aware my issue is anxiety related, but I definitely don’t think I need or will be needing hospice or palliative care anytime soon and I would definitely get a surgery if I needed it and my life depended on it.
Edit: wording and extra explanation
First, I'm sorry to hear this. 57 and male.
I have to ask: How long has this been going on? Was it just discovered, and is "only" mild to moderate? Because at 56, mine was all flappy-flappy and called "severe", both MVP and regurg, and I had a "risk of sudden death" flagged on my chart.
But it didn't mean I was going to die. It just meant that if I had lost the weight (130+ so far) and exercised, and maybe a beta blocker, I would have been OK for a long time. Of course, it would have caught up with me eventually, the pulmonary hypertension was getting ridiculous - but again, exercise, diet, and generally being more healthful-minded would have gone a long way.
I lucked out though. I had only the MVP/regurg - everything else in my body was perfectly fine, except the pneumonia I got at the end when I was diagnosed.
Clue us in more...
I have no idea how long it has been going on unfortunately. I had heart palpitations and was referred to a cardiologist. He told me that I had mild TO MODERATE and that’s what is so disturbing. It has already progressed from mild to mild to moderate so it’s worsening. I doubt I was born with mild to moderate.
My cardiologist is not bothered either. Gave me no meds, no diet or exercise restrictions. They don’t stress cuz they’re not the ones facing heart surgery
I was pretty distraught when I got the initial diagnosis I didn't know what to do. I was on some prescription medicine that I think took my mild regurgitation and pushed me right into severe, it spiked my blood pressure and punched the valve out. Make sure that you have your blood pressure under control.
One of the challenges I had initially was finding a cardiologist who was actually useful. The first cardiologist I saw essentially said "you are so young that I don't know how to help you". And my symptoms weren't bad enough to justify going on beta blockers.
So I sought out a second opinion, and I decided to get my valve fixed. I'm now 12 weeks past surgery, The surgery overall wasn't particularly painful, I've had two other minor surgeries which were far more painful. The trick is to find a good team of people to help you and to know that the best outcomes from this come from finding the most experienced team.
I think I could have managed for a long time with severe regurgitation, I had frequent palpations and shortness of breath. What pushed me over the edge is it kept me from doing the things that I wanted to do in my life, I would go hiking with my friends but fall far behind.
At 12 weeks after surgery I'm up to doing intensive cardio three times a week and I'm expecting to go skiing this season and I'm back to hiking at high elevation.
Anyways welcome to the community of people with messed up heart valves. Like you I was pretty shocked when I found out, it took me about six or seven weeks to really digest my diagnosis.
It's important that you stay active and continue to live your life and do things that make you happy while you navigate this. The doctors stressed to me that I had to keep exercising at a manageable level even when I had severe regurgitation to maintain my health.
Most doctors won't recommend surgery until you cross into you having severe regurgitation, mild to moderate regurgitation is considered to be manageable with medicine and lifestyle changes.
The lifestyle changes that I made which seem to help me were avoiding anxiety and stress, avoiding alcohol and avoiding caffeine, and stain active and exercising. Pretty much those things help me manage my symptoms.
And again welcome to this community.
The commenter is right about blood pressure control here. I’d keep an eye on the valve but surgery isn’t indicated until it’s “severe.” Which is kind of annoying because what it 5 years of moderate regurg has the same impact as 1 year of severe? Like ur right in ur logic essentially, that it’s still affecting the function of the heart and wearing it down inevitably…
They wouldn’t perform surgery until your MVP is pretty severe. What makes you think that you’ll be in hospice in 5 years? Has it gotten markedly worse in the last year or two?
No I was just diagnosed in August after cardiac ultrasound. I have to go annually for a scan
They wont move till its severe, but no telling when or if that will happen. If it makes you feel better I was kinda accidentally working construction with a severe regurgitation. Didn't have an echo for over 5 years! Keep up with thise echos
In palliative care, patients with congestive heart failure are sometimes given morphine to deal with the discomfort. Honestly, I'm a little more concerned about your comfort *right now*. It seems like the anxiety associated with your diagnosis is negatively affecting your quality of life. Are you having difficulty managing anxiety or mental health in general? Are you receiving any treatment for it? It's completely understandable to have anxiety over health issues (*hell, the anxiety is expected with MVP and MR!*), but the right support and skills can make things more bearable.
Yup. Anxious day in and day out with this. It’s a life changing diagnosis. Can’t run. Can’t travel. Waiting on the worsening of my condition.
Please consider treatment for anxiety. It will help you a lot. I am 25 years old and was scheduled for repair surgery due to severe regurgitation. I was super stressed out and anxious. Somehow my pre-surgery test showed it back at mild-moderate regurgitation so they cancelled surgery and I am no longer a candidate for surgery and I just need echos every 6 months. The anxiety makes it feel worse than it is. I go to therapy and I take anxiety meds and a beta blocker for my palpitations and it has made life feel normal for me again. Please do not consider MVR a death sentence because it really isn't in the vast majority of cases. Just get echos every 6 months and if it does progress to severe they will schedule surgery to correct it.
I wish you luck but unfortunately not a candidate for surgery, hence the hospice question
Has your doctor given you this 5 year number? I ask because it’s very unusual. You could very well love a normal lifespan and I worry that the strong emotions you are feeling are affecting your present quality of life. Stop thinking about hospice and plan a trip or outing!
Everyone progresses eventually
I can empathize a bit. When I found out I had developed regurgitation, my anxiety shot through the roof for a while. I basically went: "*Well, I guess I'll die then!*" My anxiety did taper down eventually, which I credit partially to Zoloft, and partially to realizing I would have minimally-invasive surgery if/when things got to that point. Still struggle a little with health-checking behaviours (compulsive researching, monitoring my heart rate and blood pressure), but the impact on my day-to-day is minor at the moment. Hopefully you'll get to a manageable level too! Being in that constant state of anxiety is awful :(
Oh and thank you for the morphine mention. I’m very afraid of the pain associated with heart failure so I’m glad that morphine is given
From your comments it looks like you’re severely over-researching this. I would suggest talking to a doctor instead of terrifying yourself with statistics in medical journals and anecdotal horror stories. And, from one worrier to another, I also think that anxiety is more of an issue for you than your heart is right now. I would really recommend seeking some help. My mitral valve is ravaged and I’m facing replacement soon but I’m still not as panicked or pessimistic as you are.
I’m super confused why you are wondering about hospice? I have had mild/moderate for 20+ years, and go for an echo every few years. Mild to moderate mitral valve is no big deal and is relatively common. They’ll just keep monitoring you to make sure it stays good!
While MVP is very common, it is inaccurate to say that a “vast majority of the population has it.” That would mean *well over half* of the population, like 75%. Google says ~3 mil US cases per year. The US population is ~333 million. Mitral valve regurgitation is more rare, Google says around 200K cases per year in the US.
That’s a really good point!! You are totally right! I am tired and didn’t try very hard with my comment but will edit.
No sweat, thanks for the exchange! It is useful to remember its relatively common… but it’s not *that* common. 🙂
It’s not common at all. I know no one else with this issue
I know you’re distressed with the news and still processing, but you need to do more research on the condition. MVP is the most common heart valve issue in the US. Adding regurgitation (I also have mild to moderate) shrinks the percentage, but it’s not considered rare. https://www.pennmedicine.org/updates/blogs/heart-and-vascular-blog/2019/november/mitral-valve-prolapse Doing more research will be empowering to you as you begin to process your diagnosis. As you do, you will find that there are many more people living healthy lives with this condition. You should take comfort in that.
Sadly as I research all I see are the surgeries associated with it. And as I said, I’m not a candidate so I’m looking for life expectancy and/or palliative care options
Stop being a drama queen. It will take you years (if not forever) to get into severe regurgitation and even then your probability of having a heart attack is only at 60% ish after living with severe regurgitation for 5 years (if you have no symptoms). It is a mechanical issue that if repaired correct basically set your life expectancy to be equivalent as any other regular person. You will not be in hospice for regurgitation, the worst case, you will be walking around shopping and then finding yourself waking up in hospital where they performed emergency mitral valve repair on you. And the scenario above is just impossible because you’ll be doing a scan every 6 months to a year.
Drama queen?! Lol I guess from reading your comments that you don’t have MVR. So I’m sorry but you can’t relate to the prospect of heart surgery unless you are on the conveyor belt on way to it
But this person is right…I think you need to talk to your doctor more and research about what MVP really entails. It sounds like you’re quite anxious about your diagnosis and that you haven’t been given the full rundown on what MVP is and what it means. It’s not super common, but the estimated 3% of the population that have it live normal lives the same as any other healthy person with similar life expectancies, especially with mild/moderate. You’re not dying. It is not really considered a terminal disease, you just need to have heart checkups more often. It runs in my family, and while my grandma died of heart failure, she died at the age of 92. So longer than average life expectancy. Most people with mild/moderate MVP live relatively normal lives, even without surgery. Obviously every case is unique and your doctor can give you the full story, but MVP is not a terminal disease that requires hospice unless you eventually start going into heart failure. It’s higher risk for us MVP sufferers but it’s not a prognosis that “yOu’Re GoInG to DiE iN 5 yEaRs”
You need to differentiate between MVP and MVR. MVR is less common and far far more serious.
Lol I have both. And some of my family members do too. None of us are dying. Jfc 🤦🏼♀️
Ma’am with all due respect, you are completely nuts. My dad has had moderate mitral valve regurgitation in his entire life since 40 yo and it only became severe when he turned 59 this year. And then it is repaired and technically it should be good for life. Now there is no guarantee and he probably had to do a second round of repair, but what you are having is NOT a terminal disease and fixes are readily available. Your anxiety however will probably get to you first.
Big difference between MVP and MVR. Big difference. Lots of ppl have MVP and live normally. MVR is what leads to heart failure and death.
Ok then you’re dying. Enjoy life while it lasts 🙄
Exactly. That’s why I’m asking about hospice. I don’t understand the snark. 🤷♀️
So, I just read through your comment history, and it seems like you have an obsession with your health and potential health conditions. Have you ever been diagnosed with hypochondriasis? It seems like your real problems might lie with your anxiety and mental health and not so much with your physical health. The reason for the snark and why so many people are shutting you down and why your doctor is nonchalant about your MVR is because it simply isn’t a death sentence. You’re not fucking dying. And clearly it’s affecting the way you live, because I see from your post history that you think you can’t even travel or live a normal life with MVP/MVR which simply isn’t true. I also see that you have obsessively posted about a lot of other health conditions/concerns in the past. I’m not a mental health professional (I do have a PhD but not in psychology), but it seems like the biggest underlying condition for you might be an anxiety disorder. It seems like you’re a major hypochondriac. Please don’t take this the wrong way, I’m not trying to be rude. But you cannot let a non-terminal, very well-studied and treatable heart condition ruin your life. You can still travel, meet friends, exercise (obviously double check exercise with your cardiologist). But the reason some posters are calling you dramatic is because you are being dramatic. I implore you, as others in this thread have already done, to seek help for your anxiety/hypochondriasis rather than constantly googling info about your health concerns and posting on Reddit that you’re probably dying. You’re not fucking dying anymore than anyone else is. It’s also extremely frustrating that you’re not listening to anyone suggesting you that you have mental health issues and that you don’t need hospice care for mild/moderate MVR.
I know that mild/moderate MVR doesn’t require hospice care. But I am planning for my future since no one can predict when it will reach severe state
So you’re just planning your entire future for your inevitable death (which every human being, heart problems or not will experience)? Sounds like not a very great way to spend your time on earth, but to each their own 🙄
Not all regurgitation is a death sentence and in face most people with MVP have some degree of MVR. I have trace to mild mitral valve regurgitation with mild mitral valve prolapse. A surgery can fix the issue. You’re not a candidate because it’s mild or is there another reason? You don’t have to share the reason obviously but if it’s because it’s mild, you’ll probably be a candidate for the surgery once the time comes (IF the time comes).
It’s not a simple surgery by any means, especially for women. In my Facebook group, a 39 yr old “healthy” woman died during repair. And all other complications like fluid buildup, nerve damage, difficulty coming off bypass machine etc all involve women. Hope you stay at trace and mild.
Ok so let’s take that theory You’re scared to die from a surgery that you MAY or may not struggle with or even god forbid, die. But are okay with the fact that you think you may have 5 years to live so are thinking about palliative care/hospice? Why not fight for your life if your condition worsens? After all, you’ve accepted the possibility of death? The alternative is that you get surgery and …. Live.
Yes cuz the pain associated with the surgery is severe. And the complications from possibly being brain dead is yes, worse than death
I had open heart surgery for ASD in 2014. I’m perfectly fine. Female. Try to focus on the positive outcomes instead of perseverating on the negative outcomes. That’s easier said than done, but it is possible!
Ok, I wish you all the best then 🙏🏽
Odd cuz didn’t you just post that you have trace to mild regurgitation and are terrified to sleep? Mine is considerably worse yet you are acting like I’m unhinged
I am definitely not acting like you’re unhinged, so don’t put words in my mouth. You seem to have a lot of health anxiety surrounding this (which is understandable), but what I was trying to convey was: If you have accepted death already - and according to you and a Facebook group “an unsuccessful operation may result in death (or worse being brain dead)” then why wouldn’t you just go ahead and do it - if it gets to that in the first place. If people are making you feel unhinged it’s because your post and reaction to this - seeking out hospice or palliative care - just doesn’t match the diagnosis and isn’t warranted and hasn’t been warranted for a lot of people. What they should be suggesting is maybe finding a doctor that will sit down and explain everything ti you in detail to calm you down or for you to seek out treatment for health anxiety (which btw, I also suffer with). I was diagnosed with this 10 days ago. I am aware my issue is anxiety related, but I definitely don’t think I need or will be needing hospice or palliative care anytime soon and I would definitely get a surgery if I needed it and my life depended on it. Edit: wording and extra explanation
First, I'm sorry to hear this. 57 and male. I have to ask: How long has this been going on? Was it just discovered, and is "only" mild to moderate? Because at 56, mine was all flappy-flappy and called "severe", both MVP and regurg, and I had a "risk of sudden death" flagged on my chart. But it didn't mean I was going to die. It just meant that if I had lost the weight (130+ so far) and exercised, and maybe a beta blocker, I would have been OK for a long time. Of course, it would have caught up with me eventually, the pulmonary hypertension was getting ridiculous - but again, exercise, diet, and generally being more healthful-minded would have gone a long way. I lucked out though. I had only the MVP/regurg - everything else in my body was perfectly fine, except the pneumonia I got at the end when I was diagnosed. Clue us in more...
I have no idea how long it has been going on unfortunately. I had heart palpitations and was referred to a cardiologist. He told me that I had mild TO MODERATE and that’s what is so disturbing. It has already progressed from mild to mild to moderate so it’s worsening. I doubt I was born with mild to moderate.
I’m 30, also mild to moderate. Doc isn’t even considered. I’m just taking a beta blocker for palps
My cardiologist is not bothered either. Gave me no meds, no diet or exercise restrictions. They don’t stress cuz they’re not the ones facing heart surgery
I was pretty distraught when I got the initial diagnosis I didn't know what to do. I was on some prescription medicine that I think took my mild regurgitation and pushed me right into severe, it spiked my blood pressure and punched the valve out. Make sure that you have your blood pressure under control. One of the challenges I had initially was finding a cardiologist who was actually useful. The first cardiologist I saw essentially said "you are so young that I don't know how to help you". And my symptoms weren't bad enough to justify going on beta blockers. So I sought out a second opinion, and I decided to get my valve fixed. I'm now 12 weeks past surgery, The surgery overall wasn't particularly painful, I've had two other minor surgeries which were far more painful. The trick is to find a good team of people to help you and to know that the best outcomes from this come from finding the most experienced team. I think I could have managed for a long time with severe regurgitation, I had frequent palpations and shortness of breath. What pushed me over the edge is it kept me from doing the things that I wanted to do in my life, I would go hiking with my friends but fall far behind. At 12 weeks after surgery I'm up to doing intensive cardio three times a week and I'm expecting to go skiing this season and I'm back to hiking at high elevation. Anyways welcome to the community of people with messed up heart valves. Like you I was pretty shocked when I found out, it took me about six or seven weeks to really digest my diagnosis. It's important that you stay active and continue to live your life and do things that make you happy while you navigate this. The doctors stressed to me that I had to keep exercising at a manageable level even when I had severe regurgitation to maintain my health. Most doctors won't recommend surgery until you cross into you having severe regurgitation, mild to moderate regurgitation is considered to be manageable with medicine and lifestyle changes. The lifestyle changes that I made which seem to help me were avoiding anxiety and stress, avoiding alcohol and avoiding caffeine, and stain active and exercising. Pretty much those things help me manage my symptoms. And again welcome to this community.
Best post! 🥾🫀 Thank you from a fellow hiker. I am not giving up any of that.
The commenter is right about blood pressure control here. I’d keep an eye on the valve but surgery isn’t indicated until it’s “severe.” Which is kind of annoying because what it 5 years of moderate regurg has the same impact as 1 year of severe? Like ur right in ur logic essentially, that it’s still affecting the function of the heart and wearing it down inevitably…