Mitral Stenosis- Murmur, Symptoms, Treatment

Mitral stenosis can be described as a heart disease related to the valves and is generally characterized by mitral valve narrowing. This disease is also sometime referred to as Mitral Valve Stenosis. This condition also augments the blood flow resistance from left atrium to ventricle.

Mitral Stenosis Murmurs

Mitral stenosis or Mitral Valve stenosis can be caused due to rheumatic fever. However, in some cases newly born infants are diagnosed with the issues. In other words, a baby is sometimes born with this disease. It should also be understood that this condition can be insidious which means that it does not usually have any symptoms unless it reaches to an advanced stage. One of the most common diagnoses underwent by a patient is when the doctor uses his stethoscope for detecting any heart murmurs. If the doctor detects any such murmurs he can ascertain that you are suffering from Mitral stenosis.

In case of Mitral Stenosis, the blood circulation is reduced due to narrowed valve passage. This results in increased blood pressure in the left atrium along with augmented volume of blood. This also results in engorgement of the left side atrium.  The engorged atrium usually leads to irregular rapid beats which is a disorder scientifically referred to as atrial fibrillation. This subsequently reduces the capability of heart pumping. In case the condition of the mitral stenosis advances to severe stage the pressure in the lungs’ blood vessel lungs increases. This may eventually lead to heart failure as well due to lung abscess or reduced level of oxygen in blood. A pregnant woman with advanced mitral stenosis is more prone to heart failure and may develop the condition more rapidly.

Mitral Stenosis Causes:

It is believed that most of the time mitral stenosis is caused due to rheumatic fever, which is a childhood physical issue. This issue sometimes causes due to scarlet fever or streptococcal throat. To your information Rheumatic fever has become a seldom disorder in some part of the country such as North America, Western Europe etc. Perhaps the reason behind this is that in these regions antibiotics are highly used to treat infections. Hence, this can be taken as the reason why the disorder is mostly found in old aged individuals, as these individuals might have suffered from rheumatic fever and did not get the benefit of antibiotics during their childhood. In regions where antibiotics are not widely used people are more prone to rheumatic fever and then cases of this disease are reported on comparatively larger scale. It is also seen that the mitral valve cups are partly mixed together.

Congenital mitral stenosis is seldom reported. However, infant with the prevalence of the disorder may seldom live further than then age of 2 years, except in case of any surgical treatment.  Interestingly there are three seldom physical conditions which are not relevant to mitral stenosis but may demonstrate the same effects as does the mitral stenosis. One of the conditions is a noncancerous tumor which occurs in the left atrium which is known as myxoma. Another condition is a rare progressive abnormality wherein membrane passes across left atrium and this condition is referred to as cor triatriatum. The third of these three conditions is pulmonary veno- occlusive disease which is a condition wherein the veins running from lungs towards the left atrium are narrowed.

Mitral stenosis Symptoms

In most cases of mild mitral stenosis symptoms are often absent. However, in some severe cases the patient may also have atrial fibrillation also referred to as A-Fib or heart failure. Patient afflicted with atrial fibrillation may have super cognizance of their heartbeats in simple terms they may feel their palpitations. Such people may become tired quit easily and suffer from short breath. Such difficulties in respiration may initially be experienced only during physical activities but as the conditions progresses it may also be experienced during rest. Such people may find relief in regards with respiration perhaps by using an appropriate pillow or sitting unsloped.

People afflicted with Mitral Stenosis may also suffer from mitral facies which is a condition in which the patient experiences facial flushing in plum- color, this is perhaps due to insignificant degree of oxygen in blood and blood pressure increment in the lungs. There are possibilities that a person may also suffer from hemoptysis wherein the sufferer coughs blood. This is due to increased blood pressure in lungs that leads to bursting of capillaries or veins.

Mitral Stenosis treatment:

There are chances that this disease may not occur if the condition is timely treated with antibiotics especially strep throat. There are several treatments; but medical treatments include use of drugs such as diuretics and calcium blockers. In case of people atrial fibrillation, Anticoagulants may be needed to avert development of clots. In certain cases surgical treatment may be highly essential to replace or repair the damaged valve. The surgical treatment may vary according to the condition. Hence, the best suggestion is to see a doctor for effective treatment of mitral stenosis.

Mitral Stenosis pictures