Mitral Valve Repair 101
MR can be chronic or acute. Cases of chronic MR can develop slowly over a period of years—even decades—with symptoms including fatigue, shortness of breath, feet/ankle swelling, or no symptoms at all. The surgery may also be recommended by your physician if symptoms of heart failure are present or if you have left ventricular enlargement. Sudden cases of MR require immediate surgery to repair or replace the mitral valve. Surgery: What to Expect Mitral valve repair and replacements are performed as open heart surgeries under general anesthesia. During the surgery—which typically lasts three to five hours—surgeons make a large incision in the chest, and place the patient on a cardiopulmonary machine to circulate blood outside of the body and add oxygen. To protect the heart muscle during surgery, the heart might be cooled to slow down or stop the heartbeat. Then the mitral valve is either surgically repaired or replaced with a prosthetic valve. Recovery Expect to spend a few days in the hospital’s ICU while recovering from your surgery. Full recovery is achieved after several months of healing—which includes healing of the incision site, as well as exercising and building up physical endurance. If you’ve had an artificial valve replacement, you should experience less shortness of breath and fatigue after the surgery. Before long, you’ll be able to resume normal activities under a doctor’s supervision. MR patients need to be cognizant of blood clots and infections, so be sure to consult your doctor about the warning signs. If you have questions about cardiovascular care at CFCVI, please visit our website or call 407-518-3811.
Source: Mitral Valve Surgery (NIH)
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