I was just informed that my 4 year old daughter has been diagnosed with mild mitral valve regurgitation. I have been researching, but only find the information to apply to adults, not children.What general course is taken when dealing with children with this condition and what should I expect? Her pediatrician was treating her symtoms as asthma with breathing treatments, but, I was not comfortable and took her to my family physician, who sent her for the echo, which discovered this.I'm more or less just looking at our options...
my nephew had it and needed surgery.
I am not completely familiar with this specific heart problem but my son was born with a CHD (congenital heart disease) called Tetralogy Of Fallot and has had 2 open-heart surgeries. He is only 2 years old but is and has been doing fantastic. I do know a few other parents with children with mitral valve regurgitation and they have had to have mitral valve replacements. When and or if this needs to be done depends on how severe the regurgitation is. You can go a LONG time with regurgitation of any valve. My son actually currently doesn't have ANY Pulmonary valve what so ever right now and hasn't sence his last surgery when he was 9 months. We are not looking for him to have a Pulmonary valve placement until he is about 5-7, so that will be 4-6 years with no Valve at all at 100% complete regurgitation!!!!! Hope fully your daughters isn't too bad and you can wait a few years for her to have a new valve. Children are more likely to reject valves and the sooner it is put in the sooner she will need a new mitral valve replacement. Pretty much anybody that gets a valve replacement will have to keep getting them every 10-20 years of their life depending on what kind of valve you choose, when it is placed and how good they do. Good luck to you and your daughter - heart kids are the strongest!!!!
Find yourself, or your daughter, a good cardiologist and follow his advice. I do think that this can be handled with medications in kids as well as adults. Good luck.
