What to expect - new at this

[mamato5]

I'm 39, was told as a child I had mitral valve prolapse and it meant nothing, to ignore heart symptoms ... so I did.  Then last month my dad almost died of end stage heart failure and he'd never had a heart symptom in his life. He was then diagnosed with marfan syndrome.  

So I stopped ignoring and got an echo.  Today, the results are in ... mitral valve prolapse with regurgitation, tricuspid valve regurgitation, pulmonary hypertension.  I will need to see a cardiologist of course (currently don't have one).  

I'm curious what to expect from here since I'm JUST at the beginning of this journey.  Any words of wisdom for me?

Mother to 5 adopted special needs children. :)

[maggiemag]

Ditto what he said about the valve regurgitation.  It may be nothing.  The pulmonary hypertension could also be nothing.  What pressure was mentioned?  Anything up to 35 is high normal.  An echo is only an estimate and can be way way off.  A right heart cath is the only true way to diagnose PH.  If your echo didn't mention any right heart enlargement, like right ventricle, that is a very good sign that the PH, if you have it, isn't severe.  It's also a good sign if you have no symptoms like shortness of breath with all exercise, or passing out, or extreme fatigue.  Mitral valve prolapse, unless severe, might not be connected to PH.  Since your echo didn't mention any other left heart problems like left ventricular enlargement or diastolic dysfunction, then you probably don't have right heart issues stemming from the left heart, which is very common.  I don't think that Marfan's has any connection to PH either.  I may be wrong as I am not a physician.  So, in short, I would see a cardio, who might want to have the echo re-done at his place, and go from there.  Even if you have PH, there are some extremely effective treatments today and you will be around a long time.

[madjlp]

Well, I'm assuming the echo showed normal wall motion, cavity sizes and ejection fraction - which would all be very positive indications of heart health.  The regurgitation needs to be qualified - do they specify the tricuspid or mitral regurg as "minimal, mild, moderate, severe" - the first two levels of regurg are v common and require no action (as an example, my echo shows mitral and tricuspid regurg but both are minimal/mild, so nothing to be done) whereas moderate or severe regurg would require a Dr's attention and a plan of action (either watchful waiting or, in the case of severe regurg or regurg affecting heart function/cavity size, a valve replacement).  I suppose you don't know if you have Marfan's yet but the big risk for Marfan's patients is a dilated aorta or aortic aneurysms and the attendant risk of a dissection - since you didn't mention your echo commenting on your aortic root measurement then thats likely a good sign.  The pulmonary hypertension I can't comment on - I've read some about it but I don't understand it well yet.  If you're looking for more Marfan info you could start at www.marfan.org.  Good luck.