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What Does My Echo Heart Scan Report Indicate?
Question: Dear Doctor,
I was researched today for the cause of my palpitations (bursts of PVC's and Tachycardia).
Both ECG and the Echo were fine.
However during the Echo the doctor said that he saw Mitral valve prolapse.
The document says:
"Normal mitral valve morphology with anterior leaflet prolapsed grade I with trivial regurgitation."
He said it is nothing to worry about, around 60% of the population might have it.
However I have done two echo's before and none of the doctors then said something about it. When reading the internet (stupid ofc) it said that there is a slight risk of sudden cardiac death which kinds of scares me ofc.
I would like to know if this is true or if this only counts for severe cases of this disease in?
Should I check it out further? (The doctor itself was not worried)
Could it be the cause of my palpitations?
Thank you for answering my questions.
I was researched today for the cause of my palpitations (bursts of PVC's and Tachycardia).
Both ECG and the Echo were fine.
However during the Echo the doctor said that he saw Mitral valve prolapse.
The document says:
"Normal mitral valve morphology with anterior leaflet prolapsed grade I with trivial regurgitation."
He said it is nothing to worry about, around 60% of the population might have it.
However I have done two echo's before and none of the doctors then said something about it. When reading the internet (stupid ofc) it said that there is a slight risk of sudden cardiac death which kinds of scares me ofc.
I would like to know if this is true or if this only counts for severe cases of this disease in?
Should I check it out further? (The doctor itself was not worried)
Could it be the cause of my palpitations?
Thank you for answering my questions.
Brief Answer:
I would recommend as follows:
Detailed Answer:
Hello!
Welcome and thank you for asking on HCM!
I carefully passed through your question and would explain that it is important clarifying the real nature of palpitations: whether they are an expression of cardiac arrhythmia events or just an increased perception of normal heart beats.
For this purpose I would recommend performing some tests:
- an ambulatory 24-48 hours ECG monitoring
- additional lab tests such as complete blood count for anemia, thyroid hormone levels for possible thyroid dysfunction, blood electrolytes for possible imbalance.
Regarding mitral valve prolapse and the risk of any serious cardiac events, I would explain that in general mitral valve prolapse is in general a benign echographic finding, without any clinical significance ( not rarely missed during a cardiac ultrasound or also over diagnosed; that's why it was not revealed in your previous echoes).
Only in some rare cases MPV may be associated with some cardiac conductance abnormalities (presence of accessory conductance pathways).
In such case, it may lead to even serious cardiac arrhythmia.
But as your resting ECG is normal, this later possibility remains quite low.
Also the ambulatory 24-48 hour ECG monitoring ( Holter) will show if cardiac arrhythmia is present or not.
So, to conclude, I would advise you to discuss with your attending physician on the above mentioned issues in order to definitely clarify this point of concern.
Hope to have been helpful!
Feel free to ask me again if you have any other questions!
Kind regards,
Dr. Iliri
I would recommend as follows:
Detailed Answer:
Hello!
Welcome and thank you for asking on HCM!
I carefully passed through your question and would explain that it is important clarifying the real nature of palpitations: whether they are an expression of cardiac arrhythmia events or just an increased perception of normal heart beats.
For this purpose I would recommend performing some tests:
- an ambulatory 24-48 hours ECG monitoring
- additional lab tests such as complete blood count for anemia, thyroid hormone levels for possible thyroid dysfunction, blood electrolytes for possible imbalance.
Regarding mitral valve prolapse and the risk of any serious cardiac events, I would explain that in general mitral valve prolapse is in general a benign echographic finding, without any clinical significance ( not rarely missed during a cardiac ultrasound or also over diagnosed; that's why it was not revealed in your previous echoes).
Only in some rare cases MPV may be associated with some cardiac conductance abnormalities (presence of accessory conductance pathways).
In such case, it may lead to even serious cardiac arrhythmia.
But as your resting ECG is normal, this later possibility remains quite low.
Also the ambulatory 24-48 hour ECG monitoring ( Holter) will show if cardiac arrhythmia is present or not.
So, to conclude, I would advise you to discuss with your attending physician on the above mentioned issues in order to definitely clarify this point of concern.
Hope to have been helpful!
Feel free to ask me again if you have any other questions!
Kind regards,
Dr. Iliri
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Thank you for answering my question.
What I would like to know is what this means:
"Normal mitral valve morphology with anterior leaflet prolapsed grade I with trivial regurgitation."
Morphology is fine but it does show anterior leaflet prolapsed grade I?
What does anterior leaflet prolapsed grade I mean?
What are the other grades?
What is the difference with morphology in this case?
Do I have MVP?
When looking a bit about this condition it says that 2%-3% of the people might have MVP or something. Do I have MVP with these findings or does that count for other findings? The doctor said that 60% of the people might have this condition but when looking for more information I don't really understand why he said this when it app is a lower amount (or what is referring to something different in this case).
The document says:
Mitral Velocity : 1 (Normal 0.6-1.3 m/s)
I don't know if this has anything to do with it but I don't know where to look at. But I also have some photo's.
The problem is that I am in a different country so I don't fully understand what it all means here so.
What I would like to know is what this means:
"Normal mitral valve morphology with anterior leaflet prolapsed grade I with trivial regurgitation."
Morphology is fine but it does show anterior leaflet prolapsed grade I?
What does anterior leaflet prolapsed grade I mean?
What are the other grades?
What is the difference with morphology in this case?
Do I have MVP?
When looking a bit about this condition it says that 2%-3% of the people might have MVP or something. Do I have MVP with these findings or does that count for other findings? The doctor said that 60% of the people might have this condition but when looking for more information I don't really understand why he said this when it app is a lower amount (or what is referring to something different in this case).
The document says:
Mitral Velocity : 1 (Normal 0.6-1.3 m/s)
I don't know if this has anything to do with it but I don't know where to look at. But I also have some photo's.
The problem is that I am in a different country so I don't fully understand what it all means here so.
Brief Answer:
Opinion as follows:
Detailed Answer:
Hello again,
As you are concerned about MVP presence or no, let me explain that mitral valve prolapse is an echocardiographic finding that corresponds to an increased pliability of the mitral valve (or a part of it) during its closure.
You are right about its incidence rate; on average the level of MVP in the general population ranges between 2-4%, but this varies between different studies and has been reported in up to 10% of the population in some of them.
As I explained you at the beginning of our thread, mitral valve prolapse in general is a benign phenomenon. MVP may range from mild degree expressed only with a mild leaflet prolapse through the level of mitral valve plane, to more severe one such as in the case of chordal elongation, papillary muscle elongation up to the complicated cases of chordal rupture or papillary muscle rupture; associated respectively with mild or trivial mitral regurgitation up to severe mitral regurgitation.
This is the most commonly used classification on the degree of mitral valve regurgitation due to mitral valve prolapse.
Your echo report concludes that mitral valve morphology is preserved and mitral valve prolapse and subsequent regurgitation are very mild; they look clinically insignificant, so you shouldn’t worry about.
A trivial mitral regurgitation is not rarely found in normal healthy adults even without the presence of MVP.
Sometimes, MVP is present in individuals with abnormal mitral valve morphology.
In such case, mitral valve leaflets appear with redundant tissue and this is called mixomatous degeneration. But this is not your case, because your mitral valve morphology is normal.
Whether you have mitral valve prolapse, it depends on the degree of mitral leaflet mobility beyond mitral valve plane during LV systole.
An important issue to consider is the accuracy of the examiner during heart planes and measurements acquisition. Coming to this point (as I have no registrations and echo recordings available) it is difficult actually to differentiate whether you have or not MVP.
If you have any available echo report and underlying recordings you can upload them here for a direct review and a second professional opinion.
Regards,
Dr. Iliri
Opinion as follows:
Detailed Answer:
Hello again,
As you are concerned about MVP presence or no, let me explain that mitral valve prolapse is an echocardiographic finding that corresponds to an increased pliability of the mitral valve (or a part of it) during its closure.
You are right about its incidence rate; on average the level of MVP in the general population ranges between 2-4%, but this varies between different studies and has been reported in up to 10% of the population in some of them.
As I explained you at the beginning of our thread, mitral valve prolapse in general is a benign phenomenon. MVP may range from mild degree expressed only with a mild leaflet prolapse through the level of mitral valve plane, to more severe one such as in the case of chordal elongation, papillary muscle elongation up to the complicated cases of chordal rupture or papillary muscle rupture; associated respectively with mild or trivial mitral regurgitation up to severe mitral regurgitation.
This is the most commonly used classification on the degree of mitral valve regurgitation due to mitral valve prolapse.
Your echo report concludes that mitral valve morphology is preserved and mitral valve prolapse and subsequent regurgitation are very mild; they look clinically insignificant, so you shouldn’t worry about.
A trivial mitral regurgitation is not rarely found in normal healthy adults even without the presence of MVP.
Sometimes, MVP is present in individuals with abnormal mitral valve morphology.
In such case, mitral valve leaflets appear with redundant tissue and this is called mixomatous degeneration. But this is not your case, because your mitral valve morphology is normal.
Whether you have mitral valve prolapse, it depends on the degree of mitral leaflet mobility beyond mitral valve plane during LV systole.
An important issue to consider is the accuracy of the examiner during heart planes and measurements acquisition. Coming to this point (as I have no registrations and echo recordings available) it is difficult actually to differentiate whether you have or not MVP.
If you have any available echo report and underlying recordings you can upload them here for a direct review and a second professional opinion.
Regards,
Dr. Iliri
Note: For further queries related to coronary artery disease and prevention, click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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