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Monday, November, 23, 2009
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With MVP what does it mean when your hand hurts & swells up & your ankle swells up?

pandora3379
09/21/08

I've had Lft. Mirtol Valve Prolapse & haven't had any problems until just before my back surgery now. My hands started hurting really terribly bad & my rt. hand swelled up big. At the same time my rt. ankle didn't hurt as bad, but really swelled up huge. It has been about a week now & it's still going on & I've 2 days till my surgery. I didn't tell them this when they asked for the pre-admittance. I didn't want to delay my surgery because my back hurts so badly & I really need it fixed. Help me Please with some info.

Thank You Very Much;

pandora3379

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Answers (1)
HealthSupport
Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Hi,

 

I am sorry to hear you are going through these difficulties. It is unlikely mitral valve prolapse would cause sudden swelling only in the right hand and ankle. MVP is when one of the leaflets on the mitral valve, which separates the left atrium and ventricle, does not function properly. As a result, some of the blood the left ventricle pumps actually goes backwards to the left atrium instead of out the aorta to the body. To compensate for this, your body maintains a higher amount of blood so that the rest of the body receives sufficient supply even when not all of the blood pumped by the heart goes forward.  The backwards flow of blood in this case is called mitral regurgitation.  Cardiac surgeons can sometimes correct this by replacing or reparing the valve. Your doctor can best answer this question.

 

Because of the volume overload caused by the mitral valve problem, it is possible to get swelling in the feet (called edema), especially if the heart cannot function properly.  This usually results in swelling of both feet.  So, this is why it is unlikely that the MVP is causing your current problem.

 

Again, your doctor can best answer these specific questions.

 

Hope this helps,

-HealthSupport

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