Mitral Valve Prolapse (MVP) is a heart condition that affects 5-15% of the population. Normally when one hears “heart condition” it causes immediate panic, but majority of people with MVP don’t have any symptoms. MVP only causes problems when the cardiac chambers of the heart are enlarged due to mitral regurgitation. However, most of the people diagnosed with MVP will not have this problem.
One of the most debilitating symptoms of Mitral Valve Prolapse is anxiety. The connection between MVP and panic attacks lies in the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS). The ANS controls the heart beat, blood pressure and other functions of the body. And when a person has MVP, the nervous system goes a bit haywire. The blood flows irregularly into the body causing heart palpitations and also anxiety attacks.
Anxiety is sometimes triggered by some malfunction in brain chemistry caused by an increase of blood to a part of the brain. Mitral Valve Prolapse is the root cause of this increase in blood flow, and so it is the root cause of anxiety. The anxiety from MVP is varied. Sometimes it comes in the form of panic attacks, which is when a person experiences short periods of intense anxiety. The attacks often come unexpectedly and can be debilitating to the person experiencing them. There is also the General Anxiety Disorder (GAD), this is a heightened sense of anxiety, and usually it is disproportionate to the situation. People with GAD feel anxious all the time, often for no reason. They have trouble sleeping and sometimes they have trouble breathing. Anxiety can also come in the form of phobias. A phobia is intense fear of a specific thing; it can be heights, the dark, spiders or anything. The fear experienced is irrational and often the person is overly anxious over small things. One of the most common phobias is social phobias where the person is afraid to do anything in public.
Dealing with this anxiety is very simple. Surgery is not necessary, as Mitral Valve Prolapse is not life-threatening. Instead, doctors recommend a good diet and plenty of exercise. Drinking lots of fluids and avoiding caffeine and sugar is also recommended. And for those with a serious case of MVP, doctors can prescribe medications that help with the symptoms.
