Do you know which mitral regurgitation symptoms to be monitoring?
By ShareMD Connect
If your mitral regurgitation hasn’t yet reached a severe state, you may be on a “watch and wait” treatment plan. Watch and wait can be a good approach for many people, as it's not easy to predict in whom the disease will progress. However, it is important that you know how to actively manage your condition to know when it might be time to check for disease progression.
The most recent 2020 American Heart Association Guidelines state that even in asymptomatic mild to moderate disease, patients should be regularly monitored with specific testing and assessment of symptoms to check for disease progression.
But with mitral regurgitation, symptoms may change so slowly that you may not realize they’re starting or getting worse. It’s not unusual for people to get used to their symptoms and think, “this isn’t a big deal.” Unfortunately, the reality is that ongoing or worsening symptoms of mitral regurgitation could be a sign that your disease has progressed.
It’s important to continue monitoring your symptoms at home and take careful notes to make sure you can tell your doctor what’s happening. But do you know which symptoms you should be keeping an eye on?
Symptoms of mitral regurgitation can include:
- Heart palpitations or feelings of a fluttering heart or skipped heart beats
- Shortness of breath
- Dizziness
- Extreme fatigue or weakness
- Trouble exercising because you’re getting winded easily
- Swelling, especially in the legs and feet
The most common warning sign that your mitral regurgitation may be progressing is increasing shortness of breath with physical activity.
If you or your loved ones notice that it’s getting harder for you to do everyday activities because of your symptoms, it’s time to talk to your cardiologist. It’s very important to keep track of your symptoms so that you can give your cardiologist as much information as possible. Use this checklist to help keep your thoughts organized.
Do I really need to watch out for new or worsening symptoms?
Yes.
Unfortunately, many people may not experience severe symptoms until they enter heart failure. At that point, the left ventricle of your heart is severely enlarged, and/or your ejection fraction (or strength of the squeeze of your heart) is dramatically reduced. When your heart reaches this point blood flow is backing up, fluid is building in your lungs, and surgery becomes an urgent decision.
If you’re on a “watch and wait” treatment plan, your cardiologist may not immediately be aware that your disease has progressed because they only see you periodically. That’s why it’s important that you keep track of your symptoms so that you can talk to your doctor about any changes as soon as possible.
Learn more about managing your mitral regurgitation as it progresses so that you can make the most informed decisions possible.