Q: I am 27 years old male, with height 5'7" and weight 70 kg. Recently I had mild chest pain, palpitations and one night I nearly fainted, and after this I had slight shortness of breath while climbing upstairs. I went to a cardiologist, and he said I have Mitral regurgitation in my heart and my chest x-ray gave C:T RATIO: 13.5:26. Kindly tell me, what could be the cause of my MR, and how did symptoms develop suddenly, and does that above CT ratio shows any enlargement in my heart? Is the problem mild or moderate or severe? Will the medications be enough for whole life? Kindly help.

A:The finding of mitral regurgitation murmur and a borderline enlargement of heart on X Ray chest needs further evaluation. I would suggest an echocardiography along with a doppler assessment by your cardiologist. It would tell the severity of the problem and the possible underlying cause. In general with your minor symptoms and no past history my impression is that it is not a major problem however we need to have full evaluation.