I don't know about you... But, when I was diagnosed with severe heart valve disease, I experienced several dislocating emotions. One of those emotions was confusion. As my cardiologist reviewed my echocardiogram, he used medical terms that were foreign to me.

I received a great email from Donny about atrial fibrillation and heart valve surgery. Donny asked me, "Adam – I've suffered from a-fib longer than I can remember. Now, I need mitral valve surgery due to mitral regurgitation. My heart is already dilated. Am I an anomaly or this common?"

While at the Mitral Conclave, I was fortunate to meet with Dr. Kevin Accola, a leading mitral valve surgeon from Orlando, Florida. During our discussion, I asked Dr. Accola a question submitted by Debby about mitral valve repair. (Click here to learn about mitral valve repair operations.)

A common consideration among patients preparing for valvular treatment is whether or not they will get a heart valve repair or a heart valve replacement.

Recently, I received a great question from John Myers about asymptomatic patients with mitral regurgitation. John wrote to me, "Hi Adam, I'm 76 and in good shape. I was diagnosed with moderate-to-severe regurgitation even though I have NO physical symptoms. I've read that some surgeons believe having mitral valve repair sooner than later is preferable. Should I be worried? Should I get a second opinion? Thanks, John"

Ken just sent me a financial question about the cost of an echocardiogram. He writes, "Adam - A few years back, I was diagnosed with moderate mitral valve regurgitation. Since then, I lost my job and my health insurance. Lately, I've experienced shortness of breath and fatigue. Do you know how much a heart valve echocardiogram costs? I'm nervous and curious to see if my mitral valve prolapse has gotten worse? Thanks, Ken"

I just received a question from Dawn about her recent diagnosis of mitral regurgitation.

Hi everybody,

One of the primary exams used to detect heart valve disease involves the stethoscope.

Janice has a question about mitral valve prolapse and panic attacks.

If you haven't noticed, heart valve disease has been in the news lately as many celebrities are sharing their valvular defects publicly.

The Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, is in stable condition after a 10-hour open-heart surgery on Saturday at the Stanford University Medical Centre in Palo Alto, California.

I could be wrong but I think the cliche goes something like, "A picture is worth a thousand words." While I'm not a fan of cliches, I am a fan of this one - especially when it comes to understanding heart valve surgery.

I was just reading the Annals of Internal Medicine when I came across an interesting article about mitral valve prolapse and its impact upon men and women. The summary (below) is from a report titled "Sex Differences in Morphology and Outcomes of Mitral Valve Prolapse".

Matthew has an interesting, video request...

I just received an email from Barbara regarding heart valve anatomy, specifically her mitral leaflets.

As we have previously discussed, there are a number of symptoms related to mitral valve prolapse. However, Cindy just wrote me an interesting email about whether-or-not anxiety is a symptom of MVP.

Some patients want to know EVERYTHING before their operation - the valve anatomy, the surgical process, the recovery details. Other patients want to know absolutely NOTHING about their upcoming surgery. Many say to me, "Honestly Adam, I don't want to know a thing. The more I know, the more I will worry."

Herbert, from the Philippines, just emailed me about his recent diagnosis of mitral valve prolapse. As you can read below, Herbert is questioning whether or not mitral valve prolapse is fatal.

Brenda just emailed me an interesting question about mitral valve prolapse and headaches. She writes, "Adam - I was diagnosed with prolapsed mitral valve over ten years ago. However, I have been completely asymptomatic since then. Recently, I have had really bad headaches... They might even be migraine headaches. Do you know if that is a symptom of mitral valve prolapse?"