What does leaking heart valves mean in a 23yr old female?
412050
maybe mitral valve insufficiency..u see\nvalves function as the barrier from flowing back of blood from certain chambers during pumping ..in young females it is usual case to find mitral valve insufficiency..
342303
Bjork-Shiley valve is a mechanical valve, requiring life long anticoagulants. If the anticoagulants are not given in proper doses it can lead to thromboembolism (blood clot). Or as such the anticoagulant itself may predispose to bleeding manifestations.Susceptibility to infection is also more. This valve is preferred only in younger patients.\n\nA good description of the pathophysiology of valve failure is given in http://www.emedicine.com/EMERG/topic797.htm
671739
my friend had heart surgery and that happened to her due to an infection 2wks after her surgery.  Or it could be a brisk movement has torn stiches, either way have it checked out asap.
775405
Sounds like she has been diagnosed with a condition know as Ascites. It can be associated with liver problems, but also with appendicitis, or inflammation of the colon such as diverticulitis. It is also associated with several chronic conditions.\n\nSimply put, other fluid containing organs lose the fluid, due to disease or infection, into the abdomen where it accumulates (in the peritoneal cavity.) I am a paramedic and believe this is the condition you are describing. The below URL's will help you understand.
392533
Look at this website and get to a doctor immediately!!\n\nhttp://www.heartinfo.org/hrtatkang.html
500363
In most of the cases this a benign condition. In fact it is mostly discovered during routine tests.Unless and untill MVP (mitral valve prolapse) significantly alters haemodynamics, which is quite rare, its of not much clinincal significance.Although studies indicate that people who have it are prone to  emotional swings.Anatomically one of the cusps of the MV prolapses in the diastole due to no. of reasons.Please leave all you worries to the doctors and just forget about it. Better be proud of it rather than thinking and getting worried! MVP makes u a little different frm other people!!
885724
Take her to your doctor straight away.\nI had similar problems 14yrs. ago and was diagnosed with heart disease, But don't worry it could be something else just make sure.
554279
Could be heart arrhythmia, irregular heart beat which is usually begnine.  If you are very worried you should consult your doctor.
714580
Google search:  mitral valve prolapse hereditary\n\nhttp://www.medicinenet.com/mitral_valve_prolapse/article.htm\n\n"The mitral valve prolapse (MVP) syndrome has a strong hereditary tendency, although the exact cause is unknown. Affected family members are often tall, thin, with long arms and fingers, and straight backs. It is seen most commonly in women from 20 to 40 years old, but also occurs in men."
762671
The easiest way for most men to understand a murmur, especially if they are mechanical in nature anyway, is to ask them to think about  how much noise a pump makes when it's working as usual.  While some murmurs are indicators of a problem, most are just the noise of a pump at work- your heart is nothing but an organic pump after all.  Some murmurs come and go, one doctor hears it and another one doesn't, because there is't anything to hear when he listens.  In the absence of any other problems, that's what he likely has, a noisy pump.\n  Post traumatic stress is a normal reaction to an abnormal and highly stressful situation.  It is not a mental illness in the usual sense, and if you expect to recover you do.  The key to recovery is to restore a normal life as much as possible as soon as possible.   The most important things for a man would be to go back to work, whatever he did before, and back to enjoying whatever activities he had before.  It may take a bit of pushing on your part to get him moving in the right direction, and it might be easier if you simply started and dragged him along.  You can also take the opportunity to explore new activities, pick up new hobbies, or rediscover an old one you or he used to enjoy.  As silly as it sounds, maybe you could take dance lessons. Ballroom dancing is good exercise  for a heart, and good therapy for a married couple in general.  It can be fun and relaxing, you would get out of the house, and meet new people.  Act like you expect him to improve, tell him you expect things and him to get better and don't let him just sit and mope.  Look for the positive, compliment his efforts and ignore the negative.  Encourage him to try, but don't nag if he doesn't do a lot at first.  It's a slow process, but as long as you can get him started moving, he will recover.
159943
probably not a danger - you are 23.  Ask a doctor - I think I've seen papers on this - it's seen in a few men - but you might want to get it checked out so that you feel better about it - when you find a partner you'd like to share it with - would be nice if you could explain it with confidence!
368832
Nikki - I'm happy to give you some information as a cardiologist, but the best thing for you to do is to go back and see your cardiologist in order to have these questions answered because there are several things important to making a diagnosis that you don't mention.  One of the big factors is how old you are and what your risk factors for coronary disease are (high blood pressure, lipid levels, family history, whether you smoke).  Also, it helps to know what brings on your shortness of breath and/or chest discomfort.  Is it with activity only?  Does it happen at random?  How long does it last?  What makes it go away?\n\nLet's talk about your bicuspid aortic valve first.  A bicuspid aortic valve is an aortic valve that has developed abnormally such that two of the three cusps have fused into one.  There are two main issues with this.  The first is that bicuspid aortic valves have a much higher than normal tendency to become stenotic, meaning it can become calcified, hardened, and interfere with the normal ejection of blood from your heart.  The first sign of this would be a heart murmur.  Over time, if the valve becomes severely stenosed, it can cause chest pain, shortness of breath with activity, or fainting spells.  Patients with bicuspid aortic valves should undergo routine echocardiograms every one to two years to assess the valve function.  Once the valve becomes severely stenosed, surgery to replace the valve should be discussed.  Not all patients with bicuspid valves will go on to have aortic stenosis, but those that do typically require surgery in their 40's or 50's.\n\nThe second issue with patients with bicuspid aortic valves is that they commonly have aneurysms (or dilatation) of the aortic root and/or ascending aorta.  This is important because patients with a bicuspid aortic valve are also at a higher risk for dissection (a tear in the lining of the aorta) than other patients with the same degree of aortic dilatation.  Therefore, this is also something that should be followed by serial echocardiograms.  The recommendation for surgery in a patient with bicuspid aortic valve is an ascending aortic aneurysm of approximately 5.0 to 5.5cm, but this varies somewhat from doctor to doctor.  (This is a bit earlier than would be recommended for a patient without a bicuspid aortic valve.)\n\nBeta-blockers, such as atenolol, have been shown in one study to reduce the rate of growth of the ascending aorta in a group of young males with Marfan syndrome.  Since patients with bicuspid aortic valves have histologically similar changes in their aortas, this data has been extrapolated and applied to patients with bicuspid aortic valves as well.  While there are no hard and fast rules, I would personally keep all patients with a bicuspid aortic valve and an enlarged aortic root on beta-blockers for life.  This reduces the blood pressure and amount of stress placed on the wall of the aorta, and this is how it is thought to reduce growth of the aneurysm.  For this reason, patients with a dilated aortic root and/or ascending aorta are advised to restrict their activity to moderate aerobic exercise (no training for marathons or that sort of thing) and no isometric exercises.  That's primarily heavy weight lifting, but really includes any activities where you Valsalva (straining, such as when you're constipated), so stomach crunches are sort of on the borderline of what would be recommended.\n\nTwo last thing about bicuspid aortic valves... there is a strong familial tendency, so most cardiologists would screen siblings of patients with a bicuspid aortic valve as well.  Also, as one of the previous doctors recommended, you should have a prescription to take antibiotic prophylaxis before dental procedures to prevent infection of the valve.  By the same token, you should make sure you get regular dental care because poor dental health increases your risk as well.\n\nNow regarding the shortness of breath and che
250913
this condition is called pericardial effusion.Infact it is not water in heart(blood is always in heart n blood contain more than 50% water)but outside heart in the sac around it called pericardium.No doubt that it is very serious condition and if not treated can deteriorate hearts function and lead to heart failure n if not treated lead to death in advanced cases.Don't worry,its has definite treatment which depend upon the cause and most patient usually recover.
585746
I am 19 and was born with a leaky aortic valve, ie heart murmur. I have never had a valve replacement, and generally things tend to worsen before they get better.\nDoctors generally tend to expect the worst outcome, and your son probably wont need a transplant.However He may need a few simple though painful procedures were they insert cathoders, but if leakage is mild, transplants are rarely needed.
709769
i wouldn't call it serious unless she continues to keep bleeding.  she may have just had some early leaking, like maybe her period may come early.  good luck!
545592
U R SUFFERING FROM WHAT IS CALLED A RHEUMATIC HEART DISEASE. U MUST HAVE TAKEN PENICILLIN PROPHLAXIS FOR IT I AM SURE .I DO NOT KNOW UR AGE BUT USUALLY THE PROPHLAXIS IS TAKEN FOR 5YRS FROM THE TIME U R DIAGNOSED OR TILL U TURN 21 WHICH EVER COMES FIRST. THE CHANCES R SAID 2 B VERY LITTLE AFTER 30 OF U GETTING THE SYPMTPS BUT U MUST TAKE CARE WHENEVER U GET A RESPIRATORY INF EG SORETHROAT ETC
280821
Heart valve disease is not good no matter what the age.  The 15 y/o may not be having any symptoms and may seem fine--but the longer she lives with it, the more damage that her heart and her other blood vessels will incur.  It doesn't really matter what kind of valve disease it is: the only difference that will make is where the damage will start and how quickly it will progress.  Valve diseases keep blood from flowing normally through your heart, to your lungs, and to the rest of your body.  Your heart and blood vessels will try to compensate for the abnormality, but eventually, that can lead to other heart problems.  It is quite possible that the 15 y/o will develop congestive heart failure later in life.\n\nNot to totally freak you out.  Valve replacement is a commonly done surgery, and outlook after valve surgery (for someone who's 15) is very good!  I would recommend that the person have a mechanical valve, because they last longer.  The only downfall is that they have to be on anticoagulants (which keeps blood from clotting around the artificial valve) long-term.\n\nDEFINITELY get it checked out.  If you get it taken care of, the odds are pretty good in your favor!!