Navigation thread
Navigation thread
Mitral Regurgitation
Make a donation
Make a donation
Joint project with . This link opens in a new tab.

Signs and symptoms of Mitral Regurgitation

Reading time: 1 min

Mild or moderate mitral regurgitation does not usually cause any symptoms or they are very mild. The patient may be in this phase of the disease for years, without there being any increase in the degree of regurgitation. When regurgitation is severe, it can produce symptoms, although in many cases these are mild.

The most common symptoms are:

Person holding hands to neck, sweating, pale, unable to breathe, feeling short of breath, short of breath, choking or breathlessness

Shortness of breath (dyspnoea). Instead of being ejected with each beat, some of the blood returns to the left atrium. This means the amount of blood reaching the muscles during exercise is less than is needed, and this is when the feeling of shortness of breath or fatigue appears. In advanced stages of the disease, this blood that returns to the left atrium also ends up affecting the pressure of the pulmonary veins (which flow into the left atrium). This can produce an increase in pulmonary pressure that also contributes to dyspnoea.

Swollen leg

Swelling (oedema) of the legs.  This manifests in advanced stages of the disease, especially when there is increased pulmonary pressure.

Heart and electrocardiogram, heart palpitations

Palpitations. When blood returns from the left ventricle to the left atrium, the pressure increases and it dilates. The increase in the size of the atrium can lead to arrhythmia (atrial fibrillation) which can be perceived by the patient as an irregular heartbeat.

Read more Diagnosis
Joint project with . This link opens in a new tab.

Substantiated information by:

César Bernadó
Laura Sanchís Ruiz

Published: 23 July 2024
Updated: 23 July 2024

The donations that can be done through this webpage are exclusively for the benefit of Hospital Clínic of Barcelona through Fundació Clínic per a la Recerca Biomèdica and not for BBVA Foundation, entity that collaborates with the project of PortalClínic.

Subscribe

Receive the latest updates related to this content.

Thank you for subscribing!

If this is the first time you subscribe you will receive a confirmation email, check your inbox

An error occurred and we were unable to send your data, please try again later.

Mitral Regurgitation related news