Chronic Fatique May Be the Result of a Heart Condition Called Mitral Valve Prolapse

Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) occurs when the valve between your heart's left upper chamber and the left lower chamber doesn't close properly. Many people with this condition may never have any symptoms and are surprised when a diagnosed with a heart condition. Mitral valve prolapse symptoms usually tend to be mild, and may include:

Fatigue

Depression

Anxiety or Panic Attacks

Memory Problems

Shortness of breath, often when lying flat or Rapid heartbeat when changing positions

Women with MVP have unusually low blood volume, therefore, the body produces more adrenaline to rev up the rate to send more oxygen and nutrients to the cells. However, the excess adrenaline may lead to anxiety, chest pain and fatigue.

To keep your blood volume high and normalize adrenaline, doctors advise drinking water every two hours and consuming a total of 64 ounces a day. Tests have shown that taking 500 mg of magnesium daily can ease symptoms of anxiety, and help prevent unnecessary adrenaline spikes.

Since other conditions may result in the same symptoms as MVP and you are having chest pain it is wise to have a doctor determine the cause of your pain. If you are having chest pain and are not sure if it could be a heart attack, seek emergency medical care immediately.

Another name for mitral valve prolapse is click-murmur syndrome. When a doctor listens to your heart with a stethoscope, he or she may hear a clicking sound as the valve's leaflets billow out, followed by a murmur resulting from blood flowing back into the atrium.

Fatigue, anxiety, panic attacks, and depression are symptoms that are believed to be related to imbalances of the autonomic nervous system. Migraine headaches may be related to abnormal nervous system control of the tension in the blood vessels of the brain and may also be linked to mitral valve prolapse.

Fatigue is the most common complaint, patients with MVP may have autonomic nervous system imbalances, causing an inadequate blood oxygen supply and resulting in fatigue when exercising.