Q: I am 28 years old female married for 1 year now. Some years back I was diagnosed with a Mitral Valve Prolapse with mild regurgitation. I have severe palpitations for the past 11 years. Nothing helped. I was on Inderal for some time. Of course anxiety triggers it off and worsens the situation when its already there, but otherwise also, I am having it almost all the time. One 24 hours holter test is still due, but can you tell me whether its curable at all? Some people say, I have to live with it, which is really annoying for it disturbs a lot. Kindly don't relate it to just a state of mind, as some do, as I am already fed up of medications and have no plans to remain sick by just thinking that I am unwell.

A:Mitral valve prolapse is a congenital disorder and it is very benign (harmless). It does produce off & on palpitations, chest pain and breathlessness. All these symptoms have a tendency to recur and they often come with anxiety, stress, exhaustion, emotional turmoil, with onset of after menses and heavy meals, especially if they are fatty in nature. This is a condition which rarely leads to severe valvular leak. However, these symptoms need to be controlled with Tab. Inderal and some times tranquillizers. Yoga, exercise and auto suggestion helps in controlling the symptoms. Most important however is the fact that it is a harmless condition and one should be reassured that no harm will come ones way because of this condition. We can fully appreciate your dilemma as you are young and recently married and therefore would like not to have any chronic illness, but trust me, if you were destined to have an illness then this is not a bad one. So please relax and take small little unpleasant things in life in your stride.