Tuesday, February 22, 2011

As Seen on The Doctors


I was flipping through the channels this afternoon and (to my delight) caught a short segment about heart palpitations on the television show The Doctors (aka America's Medical Dream Team).

They had a young woman on the show named Sarah who complained of heart palpitations along with feelings of her heart racing, being unable to catch her breath, and feeling faint without actually fainting. The young woman was visibly quite scared.

The Doctors mentioned that the woman had an underlying cause that was most likely attributing to her heart palpitations. Want to take a guess of the cause?

If you guessed Mitral Valve Prolapse, you're right! I've talked a little bit about MVP before on my blog, but here's a crash course if you can't remember. Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) occurs when the valve between your heart's left upper chamber (left atrium) and the left lower chamber (left ventricle) doesn't close properly. When the left ventricle contracts, the valve's flaps bulge (prolapse) upward or back into the atrium. Mitral (MIE-truhl) valve prolapse sometimes leads to blood leaking backward into the left atrium, a condition called mitral valve regurgitation.

Dr. John Kennedy on The Doctors, said that most likely the regurgitation was "tickling" or "irritating" Sarah's heart and thus the heart palpitations.

Sarah wore a 24 hour holter monitor and completed a 30 day event monitor for prognosis. The results were that even when she was palpitating she overall had a normal sinus rhythm. Sarah was going to be okay.

The Doctors urged her to lower her stress levels whether it be "trying a yoga class" or "reading a book."

Disclaimer: When watching The Doctors, if you are a woman, you may want to use caution when looking at Dr. Travis Stork (a former Bachelor on ABC's The Bachelor). He has been known to make a woman's heart start palpitating.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi There! I just stumbled across your blog, as I have recently experienced PVCs (I'm 24). I would love to talk to you more about it and your experiences. I'm starting to freak myself out! If you would like to send me your email, I would love to speak with you further!

Ali said...

Hi Brittany,
So glad you found my blog. I'm sorry you are experiencing PVCs but know that you are definitely not alone. I'm not comfortable publishing my e-mail address as I don't want to be targeted by scams, cures, or freebies, but if you'd like to give me your e-mail address, I can contact you. Otherwise, I'm always happy to chat on the comment sections of my blog. :) Blessings.

Scharlene said...

Hi Ali,
I would also lke to chat move about your/my experiences. Please contact me. My email is weshag2@yahoo.com. I have corresponded with several people off of the MVP web site. Look forward to hearing from you.

Ali said...

Hi Scharlene,

Did you ever get my e-mail I sent you a few weeks a go? Hope you are doing well!

--Ali