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.