Just diagnosed with it, I know im always the one saying, “ask your doctor about it” and i did, said i just needed to drink lots of fluids/electrolytes, and antibiotics before dental work… etc, no problems at all with IM (Its just a minor leak, nothing worrisome). Anyway, Im just wondering if anyone else has experience with this. One of the symptoms is feeling tired (which i dont really get… 'cept during lectures), What are the best ways to maximize performance, and minimize the affects of this? High Electrolyte drinks? higher protein diet? what things have worked for other people?
You’re probably not getting tired since your cardiovascular system is highly developed compared to the average guy. I don’t think you’d need to do anything different except for what the doc told you.
I got diagnosed with it last year. I’m a 29 year-old male, if that matters. I was at first a little concerned, but I have not (knock on wood) experienced any kind of noticeable symptoms whatsoever. Since being diagnosed with it, I’ve completed a half IM and two marathons, and I’m in training for another half IM, as well as IM Wisconsin in September. From what I understand, it totally depends on the severity of your MVP, but with minor cases such as ours, we should be able to exercise and race with no worries.
From what some doctors have told me, it’s a very prevalent condition and just hasn’t been diagnosed in more of the young, athletic types because these folks generally haven’t had much need to get an echocardiogram or other test that might reveal it.
yeah, im 21, and the only reason it got diagnosed was because i requested a echo, just as a precautioinary measure, with all the training my doing. Yeah, ive already done a marathon, and centuries, and havent had any problems, in fact ive done better than most other people i know. I guess its just the body adapting in different ways.
i was diagnosed about 3yrs ago now (that’ll teach me to see a gp for a sore knee). on a scale of 1-10, my cardio guy said i’m a 7. but he also didn’t put any restrictions on my training or diet. in fact he said keeping my heart strong was only a good thing. i still go every 2yrs to keep a check on it (did you know they set those ekg things to alarm if your hr goes below 50?) and have no problems whatsoever. i’ve not had to change anything since i found out i had it training or nutrition wise.
i wouldn’t let it bother you at all.
k
I had the same diagnosis many years ago. I assume you are a young person and the condition is not presenting a problem for you now. Just follow your doctor’s advice to the letter. I did this for many years running and biking with no ill effect.
However, and I speak from experience, as the years pass, get regular checkups. If you feel “out of sorts” for any length of time, get yourself to your doctor. I didn’t pay attention to a long standing case of unreasonable fatigue and in 1990 had to have valve replacement surgery. Twelve years after the replacement, I took up triathlon. From this one could deduce that I am not a young person. In my opinion, the bottom line would be to take care of yourself as any intelligent athlete would, don’t labor over the condition, but keep your radar on for anything out of the ordinary, especially as the years pass. Time works on the valve in both active and sedentary people alike.
Keep on training, have fun, and good luck!
Lou
its only about 1:10000 cases that progress in severity, but its really valve infections that present any realistic danger, but ill def. be on the lookout for stuff. Since ill be working in the health profession as a doc, im sure ill have no prob keeping an eye on it.
To anyone with mitral valve prolapse, don’t, under any circumstances, play around with the possibility of infection, especially associated with dental work. The past two days I’ve spent 20-plus hours in double valve surgeries for two separate people that had developed endocarditis infections…both after dental work. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO is what you are supposed to do, and take prophylactic antibiotics before going to the dentist. Other than that, MVProlapse is generally not a big deal. Don’t let it become a big deal, because if you do, it’s a big deal that can be really bad. I don’t try and scare people for no reason, this is one of the rare exceptions when I don’t mind if what I write is scary. It’s just too easy to prevent, and very bad if you don’t prevent it.
Key questions you want to ask and have answered: -Is it just prolapse(bascially floppiness of a portion of the valve) or is there any regurgitation (leaking of blood back into the atrium), and -are all the other aspects of the heart completely normal. If answers are: just prolapse, no regurg., everything else ok, there are no implications (other than, as discussed, need for prophylactic antibiotics under specific circumstances) for your training and performance. You also want to make sure this was what’s called a “2 dimensional echo with dopplers” which is basically the more thorough exam
yeah, i still have some tests, in a few weeks i have a tilt-table thing, and just had a 24 hr recording of my heart (going to a rock concert with wires sticking out of your chest is interesting). I think i might have already gotten the “2 dimensional echo with dopplers”, i know it was an echo, and it took a while, ill have to ask.
k, i have a question. i always take my meds pre-dentist appt., but what about when i’m in a rush flossing (i am a daily flosser) and i cut my gums and they bleed? just one of those things that makes me go hmmmmm.
k
i really don’t know how it stacks up percentage-wise compared to a true dental proceedure, I’d guess to say flossing gum-cutting isn’t as dangerous as a dental proceedure due to the extensiveness of lesions during a dental proceedure, as well as depth of the lesions.
But, it isn’t good to cut your gums anyway! So, don’t rush flossing…don’t cut your gums.