Mitral Stenosis


Is mild regurgitation of the mitral and tricuspid valves severe?
Mitral and tricuspid valve regurgitation with a small amount of reflux is generally not serious if it is not associated with any related organic diseases, nor will it lead to adverse consequences, and therefore does not require any corresponding treatment. If the minor reflux of the mitral and tricuspid valves is caused by an organic disease leading to an enlarged heart, the condition is then considered more severe. It is necessary to actively identify the specific related diseases and provide appropriate treatment for different diseases to effectively control the condition long-term. This is crucial to prevent further exacerbation of the disease, which could lead to further enlargement of the heart and increased severity of mitral and tricuspid valve regurgitation. When significant regurgitation occurs, it can cause a marked increase in the preload of the ventricles, promoting the occurrence of heart failure and thereby leading to severe adverse consequences.


What are the symptoms of mild mitral regurgitation?
"Mild mitral regurgitation generally does not cause significant symptoms, and mild mitral regurgitation is often seen under physiological conditions. As age increases, due to aging and other reasons, mild regurgitation may occur in the mitral valve, which does not result in adverse consequences. However, sometimes mild mitral regurgitation may be caused by heart disease leading to heart enlargement and annular dilation. In such cases, it is crucial to actively treat the underlying heart disease to prevent further enlargement of the heart, which could worsen the mitral regurgitation. Therefore, when mild mitral regurgitation occurs, it is important to actively investigate the cause of the regurgitation."


Can mild regurgitation of the mitral and tricuspid valves be cured?
For the disease of mild regurgitation of the heart's mitral and tricuspid valves, which belongs to heart valve disorders, it can be improved with medication. However, this disease tends to recur, particularly in cases of upper respiratory tract infections or under the influence of inflammation, which can provoke the onset of this disease. This condition primarily manifests as symptoms like palpitations, chest tightness, and shortness of breath in patients. These symptoms especially include paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea. Occasionally, there may also be swelling in the lower limbs. With aggressive medical treatment, these issues can be managed, but it is also advisable for patients to regularly come to the hospital for follow-up checks.


Why can't vasodilators be used for mitral stenosis?
Mitral stenosis primarily restricts the return blood volume to the left ventricle. If the stenosis is particularly severe, it can lead to a significant decrease in return blood volume, resulting in poorer pumping function. There are several main factors that affect return blood volume. The first is sufficient circulating blood volume, and the second is the degree of mitral stenosis. Therefore, after using vasodilators, a large amount of blood flows into the capacitance vessels. As a result, the return blood volume decreases, which can further reduce the return blood volume through the already narrowed mitral valve, leading to worsening breathing difficulties in patients, severe cases can cause fainting, or even sudden death.


Does mild mitral valve regurgitation require treatment?
The mitral valve is a crucial structure in the left ventricle that directs blood from the atrium to the ventricle. When there is mitral valve insufficiency, the blood that should be pumped from the ventricle into the aorta and distributed throughout the body can flow back into the left atrium through the mitral valve. This can sometimes increase the ineffective efforts of the heart, leading to a higher cardiac load, and may sometimes result in heart failure. Generally speaking, there is a limit to how much load the left heart can compensate for. Mild mitral valve insufficiency is mostly within the compensatory range of the heart and may not require treatment. However, it is important to determine the cause of the mitral valve insufficiency, such as whether it is due to cardiac enlargement, poor coronary artery blood supply leading to poor mitral valve development, age-related degenerative changes, rheumatic heart valve disease, or endocardial infection. Some conditions, such as those caused by infection or coronary artery ischemia, need timely treatment. The notion that treatment is not necessary is incomplete. For some age-related degenerative changes, treatment may not be needed.


What is mild mitral and tricuspid regurgitation of the heart?
Mild regurgitation of the mitral and tricuspid valves means that during the contraction phase of the heart, the mitral and tricuspid valves cannot close completely, resulting in a slight imperfection in closure. This causes a small amount of blood to flow back from the ventricle into the atrium. Since the closure imperfection is minor, the volume of the regurgitating blood is not significant. If not accompanied by any organic disease, this type of regurgitation typically does not lead to adverse outcomes and does not require treatment. However, if the patient has an organic disease, especially organic heart disease, it is crucial to actively control the related diseases to prevent aggravation, which could worsen the condition of mitral and tricuspid valves regurgitation, leading to more severe regurgitation.


Can mitral and tricuspid regurgitation heal by themselves?
Mitral and tricuspid valve regurgitation generally cannot heal on their own. Of course, different cases of mitral and tricuspid regurgitation require different clinical treatments. Generally speaking, if it is only mild mitral and tricuspid regurgitation, no special treatment is needed. If it is caused by organic lesions in the mitral and tricuspid valves themselves, causing severe regurgitation, then surgical treatment is necessary to correct the organic abnormalities of the valves. If the regurgitation of the tricuspid and mitral valves is caused by diseases that lead to an enlarged heart and dilation of the valve annulus, it is necessary to actively treat these diseases to effectively control the condition and prevent it from worsening.


What should I do if I have mild mitral valve regurgitation?
Mild mitral valve regurgitation is observed and further investigation is needed to understand the causes of this condition. If mild mitral valve regurgitation occurs in a healthy individual, it is primarily due to physiological degeneration of the mitral valve, generally does not lead to adverse consequences, and does not require special treatment. If it is caused by diseases that lead to an enlarged heart, resulting in relative mild mitral valve regurgitation, this situation necessitates active treatment of the underlying diseases to effectively control the condition, prevent further enlargement of the heart, exacerbate the degree of mitral valve regurgitation, and thus adversely affect health.


What is mild regurgitation of the mitral and tricuspid valves?
If a cardiac echocardiogram simply finds mild regurgitation of the mitral and tricuspid valves, and the heart isn't noticeably enlarged, and the valves have no organic lesions, this mild regurgitation of the mitral and tricuspid valves isn't considered a pathological state. It should be considered as physiological degeneration of the valves and doesn't require treatment, generally causing no harm to overall health. However, some occurrences of mild regurgitation of the mitral and tricuspid valves are due to enlargement of the left and right ventricles. In these cases, it's necessary to further identify the causes leading to the enlargement of the ventricles and actively address them to control the condition effectively. This avoids further enlargement of the ventricles, which could worsen the valve regurgitation and negatively impact health.


Is mild regurgitation of the mitral and tricuspid valves serious?
Because mild regurgitation of the mitral and tricuspid valves is a type of heart valve disease, if it is not very severe, it can be observed for the time being, and some medications can be used to alleviate the symptoms. Currently, the treatment of this disease is mainly symptomatic. It is also important to monitor changes in the patient's heart rate, blood pressure, and pulse. If the patient experiences chest tightness, palpitations, or difficulty breathing, some cardiotonics and diuretics can be used to reduce the cardiac load and thus improve the patient's symptoms. If it is a mild regurgitation, regular cardiac echocardiography checks are sufficient. During this period, it is still important to actively prevent upper respiratory tract infections.