Valve leakage

I was diagnosed 2years ago with Mild to moderate Mitral regurgitation. They put me on medications , carvedilol, losartan, & farxiga. I also have CHF & CAD. I sometimes get angina & short of breath but they haven’t recommended any surgeries yet. Being 81, I will opt for the minimally invasive procedure MitraClip if it comes to that. They check progression annually by way of echocardiograms, so am kinda in a holding pattern.

I do, mitral valve regurgitation and will be having robotic surgery in a couple of weeks. Do you have any questions?

Dr told me I had leaky valve and frightened the daylights out of me with description. Went to cardio and he tested at 6mth, 1y, 2yr intervals. Said I would probably die of something else. That was 12yrs ago!

I had a mitral valve leak with severe regurgitation, diagnosed after a physician heard a heart murmur in 2017. I went in for carpal tunnel syndrome. I had no symptoms of distress. The first cardiologist I saw told me to contact him when I became short of breath.
I was monitored for a couple of years with echocardiograms. I got a new cardiologist who told me that there were better outcomes when patients had surgery prior to the onset of congestive heart failure (CHF). My mother died from CHF, so I took his advice as I did not want to go down that road.
I had a mitral valve repair with a clip. It was an open heart procedure. I had some complications after surgery, but recovered well.
I'm glad I had surgery when I did in 2019 as my husband was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease then. In 2020, I started with symptoms of a painful and debilitating autoimmune disorder - Polymyalgia Rheumatica/Giant Cell Arteritis.
Prior to my surgery, I asked the doctor what to do, and he said, Keep doing what you're doing, exercise-wise. I kept going to Judo. Later, when I told him, he looked at me in horror. Don't do that! He explained that my heart was like a parachute with only a certain number of strings left, and with such few strings I could easily break one with strenuous Judo practice.
It's better to be detailed than vague when it comes to this condition.

Hi @ddillard , welcome to Connect! It looks like several are providing information about experiences with leaky heart valves.

If you are comfortable sharing, what brings you here? Do you or someone you know have a heart valve leak?

I had mitral valve regurgitation that was monitored for a number of years. When regurgitation got bad enough and kicked off A-fib, I had minimally invasive mitral valve repair with attempted MitraClip placement a little over a year ago. The surgeon couldn't place the MitraClip, but the mitral valve repair went well - attached an annuloplasty ring and added a couple Goretex cords. After a few hiccups following surgery - I caught a flu and ended up with a pneumothroax and subsequent subcutaneous emphysema - recovery has been great. I'm back to my normal exercise routine, hiked 10 miles yesterday.
If available, I would highly recommend a cardiac rehab program post-surgery; it helps get you back on your feet and helps to ease the anxiety of trying to figure out what you can and can't do.

I had an allergic reaction to Crestor and couldn't move my legs. I was on the floor of my bedroom for 4 days before a friend found me and called 911. I had PE's, severe rhabdomyolysis and drop foot. While performing tests, they did a cardiac workup. It showedthat I have 2 valves regurgitating and a trifleat in my right artery, which has an abnormal RV/LV ratio. This was not discussed with me or my mother. I found the reports and scans/imaging in my health portal. I talked to my PCP, who scheduled me for a coronary artery disease test, which I did this morning. My father, his mother, and both of his siblings all died fairly young from Heart disease/heart attacks. My cholesterol levels are off the charts high, but my insurance won't cover Repatha. I'm 41 and terrified, because I don't know what these findings mean. What is being regurgitated? Why were those findings not shared with me? If anyone has information about this subject, I would greatly appreciate any guidance.

The regurgitation means the leaky valve.....leaks. They are all meant to be one-way valves. They open outward with the flow, and when the contracting pump/ventricle relaxes and the flow ceases, those leaflets close and prevent backflow...regurgitation. Picture the left ventricle as it pumps blood through the aortic valve, forcing oxygenated blood up and over the aortic arch where gravity would want to take over. That valve opens outward, (up into the aorta) toward the direction of flow. When the flow ceases and the ventricle fills again with the atrium's flow through the one-way mitral valve, the aortic valve closes to prevent the blood column still in the aorta from falling back into the ventricle due to gravity.
What is being regurgitated was your question. Blood. No harm to the blood or to the heart, but it makes the heart very inefficient as a pump. Even mechanical pumps have check valves and other parts to improve the flow, to check the flow, etc. The heart is no different. It has four valves: on the left side, the mitral valve and the aortic valve, and on the right side, the triscupid valve and the pulmonary valve. They all open with the flow/pressure to allow blood to move in one direction, which is what each of the four chambers of the heart are meant to do. Then, they close and prevent backflow so that the filling chamber can more easily force blood into the bigger ventricles, the big pumps.
I hope that all makes sense.
As for cholesterol, it can be controlled by diet to an extent (limited for some people, quite a lot for others), and that depends on the other component, genetics. I can't comment about a statin and finances, but if it comes down to a blocked artery, you would neet a bypass/stent. This would ideally come from frequent monitoring/imaging so that you don't have a high risk of a heart attack before they say to you that it's time to have that heart operation.

I have a question. No one has yet explained to me what it means that my mitral, tricuspid, and pulmonic valves are regurgitating. No one has explained what it means that my RV/LV ratio findings are equivical for right heart strain. I've done 2 CT'S, an Echo, a cardiac disease test (for buildup and blockages) and am scheduled for a Bubble test. I Vape, have a long line of fanilial heart disease, extremely high cholesterol levels, and tachycardia... I'm scared and no one wants to talk to me about it. Does any of this ring a bell to you? If so, would you please help me understand what's happening and what night the outcome could be, please?

Thank you

Thank you SO much. I am very grateful to you for being kind enough to explain this to me.