eMedicine Specialties > Pediatrics: Cardiac Disease and Critical Care Medicine > Cardiology

Mitral Valve Insufficiency: Follow-up

Author: Jason T Su, DO, Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatric Cardiology, Primary Children's Medical Center, University of Utah
Contributor Information and Disclosures

Updated: Apr 28, 2009

Follow-up

Further Inpatient Care

  • In mitral valve insufficiency, use medications to decrease the work placed on the heart. Intravenous diuretics can be used. Intravenous inotropes (eg, milrinone) can also be used to treat heart failure.

Further Outpatient Care

  • Asymptomatic patients and those with normal chest radiograph, ECG, and echocardiography findings should have follow-up evaluations at regular intervals.
  • Patients without severe symptoms can be treated with oral ACE inhibitors (captopril) and Lasix. Digoxin can also be used if symptoms of heart failure are present.

Inpatient & Outpatient Medications

Complications

  • In patients with mechanical prostheses, too much warfarin may result in excessive bleeding, whereas insufficient anticoagulation may lead to thromboembolism.

Patient Education

  • Asymptomatic children with mitral regurgitation (MR) require regular examinations because the indolent course of MR may be deceptive as long as the heart is able to compensate for the altered hemodynamics. Patients and families require education regarding specific medications, especially warfarin.
  • For excellent patient education resources, visit eMedicine's Heart Center. Also, see eMedicine's patient education article Mitral Valve Prolapse.

Miscellaneous

Medicolegal Pitfalls

  • Pay attention to all murmurs, and differentiate benign systolic (Still) murmurs from pathologic murmurs.
 


More on Mitral Valve Insufficiency

Overview: Mitral Valve Insufficiency
Differential Diagnoses & Workup: Mitral Valve Insufficiency
Treatment & Medication: Mitral Valve Insufficiency
Follow-up: Mitral Valve Insufficiency
Multimedia: Mitral Valve Insufficiency
References
Further Reading
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References

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Keywords

mitral valve insufficiency, mitral valve regurgitation, mitral regurgitation, MR, heart defect, congential heart defect, acquired heart defect, mitral valve defect, cardiomyopathy, cardiac disease, cardiac defect, left-sided heart disease, heart failure, pulmonary edema, pulmonary congestion, pulmonary hypertension, failure to thrive, endocarditis, myocarditis, rheumatic heart disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, SLE, ischemic, mitral valve prolapse, Marfan syndrome, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, coronary artery disease, amyloidosis, sarcoidosis, cardiomyopathy, transposition of the great arteries, anomalous origin of the left coronary artery, scleroderma, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, treatment, diagnosis

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Contributor Information and Disclosures

Author

Jason T Su, DO, Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatric Cardiology, Primary Children's Medical Center, University of Utah
Jason T Su, DO is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Pediatrics
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Medical Editor

Ira H Gessner, MD, Professor Emeritus, Pediatric Cardiology
Ira H Gessner, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, American Pediatric Society, and Society for Pediatric Research
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Pharmacy Editor

Mary L Windle, PharmD, Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy, Pharmacy Editor, eMedicine
Disclosure: Pfizer Inc Stock Investment from financial planner; Avanir Pharma Stock Investment from financial planner ; WebMD Salary and stock Employment and investment from financial planner

Managing Editor

Julian M Stewart, MD, PhD, Associate Chairman of Pediatrics, Director, Center for Hypotension, Westchester Medical Center; Professor of Pediatrics and Physiology, New York Medical College
Julian M Stewart, MD, PhD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Pediatrics
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

CME Editor

Gilbert Z Herzberg, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Section of Pediatric Cardiology, New York Medical College; Consulting Staff, Department of Pediatrics, Sound Shore Medical Center
Gilbert Z Herzberg, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Pediatrics
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Stuart Berger, MD, Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Cardiology, Medical College of Wisconsin; Chief of Pediatric Cardiology, Medical Director of Pediatric Heart Transplant Program, Medical Director of The Heart Center, Children's Hospital of Wisconsin
Stuart Berger, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Cardiology, American College of Chest Physicians, American Heart Association, and Society for Cardiac Angiography and Interventions
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

 
 
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