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Heart Valve Alert: Deaths Due To Mitral Regurgitation Increasing!

By Adam Pick on December 10, 2020

In case you missed it...

New research by the University of Alabama at Birmingham suggests that deaths due to mitral valve regurgitation in the United States have increased during the past six years after fourteen years of ongoing declines.

Patients with mitral regurgitation have a leaky heart valve which forces the heart to work "over-time" to re-pump blood into the body. The condition can cause patients to feel tired, short-of-breath, dizzy and experience chest pain. It is also important to note that patients can have severe mitral regurgitation and no symptoms.

A serious cardiac disorder related to mitral regurgitation is atrial fibrillation (AFib), an abnormal heart rhythm, which can also lead to heart palpitations, fatigue and chest pain.

Patients with mitral valve disease are 35% more likely to have AFib, according to Dr. Jonathan Philpott at Sentara Heart Institute in Norfolk, Virgina. Unfortunately, patients with AFib are 5 times more likely to have a stroke, according the American Heart Association. Click the following link to learn about heart valve disease and atrial fibrillation.

As we have learned together, heart valve disease is under-diagnosed and under-treated. Unfortunately, AFib is also seriously under-treated. In new research just published by Dr. Patrick McCarthy at Northwestern Medicine, only 38% of patients with mitral regurgitation and AFib had their AFib treated during cardiac procedures for the mitral valve.

This is another big reminder to please monitor your mitral regurgitation and any other cardiac condition you may have been diagnosed with -- especially if you are experiencing symptoms.

Keep on tickin!
Adam

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Written by Adam Pick
Patient & Website Founder

Written by Adam Pick - Patient & Website Founder

Adam Pick is a heart valve patient and author of The Patient's Guide To Heart Valve Surgery. In 2006, Adam founded HeartValveSurgery.com to educate and empower patients. This award-winning website has helped over 10 million people fight heart valve disease. Adam has been featured by the American Heart Association and Medical News Today.

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