Exercising with a leaky heart valve

[Julie1552]

I was told by my doctor that I have a leaky heart valve.  I am not sure which valve it is.  I will ask next month when I see her.  

I have been doing Zumba tapes that are quite active.  Will that hurt me?  Will it make my leak worse?

[Smiley2000]

Hi there,

I read from your profile that you are 61?  that would put you in a higher risk category when it comes to exercises due to high BP, etc.

The leaky heart valves that your Doctor refers to:  Barlow's Syndrome.  It is very common and 20% of the population has it and does not need any intervention/treatment, unless it causes alarming symptoms or heart failure.

But, with any exercise or diet, it is highly recommended at your age to consult your Primary Care Physician/GP first.

Take care and let us know how you are doing.

[achillea]

All my heart valves are a little leaky, and my cardiologist told me that in general, that is pretty normal, especially as we get older.  The leakage from 3 of those valves is described as trivial and completely unremarkable.   I have only one valve that should NOT leak (the aortic), and that earns me a yearly stress and echo test.  However, since the leakage there is "mild-to-moderate" as well as stable, the doc always tells me to go ahead and exercise my buns off.

It is pretty reasonable to assume that since you did NOT get a warning from your doc not to exercise, you are fine to continue your zumba classes.

However, why not just call your cardio in the morning and ask your question?  A nurse will consult with your doc and get back to you in a day or so, short-cutting all the waiting.