Test Yourself
If you suffer from shortness of breath, difficulty climbing the stairs and a fast heart rate, you might be suffering from mitral regurgitation. In other words, a disease of the mitral valve, one of the heart valves. We call this a 'leaky mitral valve'.
The symptoms of a leaking mitral heart valve
The symptoms of a leaking mitral heart valve depend on how far the disorder has progressed. In many cases, a leaking mitral heart valve causes only slight or no symptoms at all. In the case of severe mitral insufficiency consider the following symptoms:
- Shortness of breath, particularly after exertion or when lying down
- A feeling of weakness and fatigue, mainly with increased activity (e.g. climbing stairs)
- Reduced appetite
- Drowsiness
- Brief loss of consciousness, your vision sometimes “goes black”
- Irritating cough, which becomes worse when lying down
- Heart palpitations, sensation of a rapid, fluttering heartbeat
- Fluid retention, swollen feet and ankles
- Having to urinate often at night
