Chuck:
Suspect two things with minor leakage from mitral valve prolapse: ...dehydration and magnesium deficiency. With dehydration, the chords operating the valves become stiff and dont allow the valves to seat properly to allow for complete closure. Often its just as simple as hydrating well and often and taking supplemental magnesium. I have quite a few files if youd to read some of the articles, email me. Otherwise,
heres a start:
Jackie
Check out Conference Room #25 [
www.afibbers.org]
Following are a few clips from my files regarding MVP:
Be sure you read this article by Leo Galland, MD...
Magnesium Deficiency in the Pathogenesis of Mitral Valve Prolapse
Leo D. Galland, Sidney M. Baker, Robert K McLellan
Gesell Institute of Human Development, New Haven, Conn., USA [
www.mdheal.org]
Also read that Dr. Galland has discovered many patients with MVP also have Candida overgrowth. Worth checking out.
Mitral Valve Prolapse and Candida
People with the yeast syndrome, fibromyalgia or multiple chemical sensitivity are more likely than others to have a heart condition called mitral valve prolapse. In fact, Leo Galland found that almost half of those being treated for chronic Candida albicans infections also had mitral valve prolapse. Depleted taurine, coenzyme Q10 and low magnesium are associated with both mitral valve prolapse and candida overgrowth. This suggests that yeast may play a major part in the development of this condition. With mitral valve prolapse, the body appears to have a problem with controlling the release of noradrenaline and adrenaline.
[
www.healthyawareness.com]
More From Dr. Galland:
Irritable Bowel, Mitral Valve Prolapse, and Associated Conditions
[
jama.ama-assn.org]
A couple of clips from a 10-page document file from Hans online newsletter International Health News Data Base indicating magnesium deficiency is wide spread and found to be a factor in not only heart disease and arrhythmia but disease conditions such as diabetes, asthma, hypertension, chronic fatigue, osteoporosis, mitral valve prolapse, muscle cramps. These are summaries of journaled articles from all over the world:
Magnesium combats mitral valve prolapse syndrome
WARSAW, POLAND. Mitral valve prolapse syndrome (MVP) is a fairly frequent disorder and is particularly prevalent among women of childbearing age. It usually manifests itself through symptoms such as chest pain, palpitations, anxiety, headaches, and a low level of vital energy. It can be clinically confirmed through an echocardiogram. The cause of MVP is not clear and there is no effective conventional treatment. Researchers at the Grochowski Hospital in Warsaw now report that MVP is related to a magnesium deficiency and can be successfully treated with oral administration of magnesium supplements. Their study involved 141 patients (124 women and 17 men aged 16 to 57 years) whose diagnosis of MVP had been confirmed by echocardiography. The researchers measured the serum (blood) level of magnesium in the 141 patients and in 40 matched, healthy controls. They found that 60 per cent of the MVP patients had an abnormally low magnesium level (<0.7 mmol/L) while only five per cent of the controls had a low level. Seventy of the patients (64 women and 6 men) were then randomized to receive either oral magnesium supplementation or a placebo for a five-week period. The magnesium group received 1800 mg/day of magnesium carbonate (510 mg of elementary magnesium) for the first week and than 1200 mg/day of magnesium carbonate (340 mg of elementary magnesium) for the remaining weeks. At the end of the test period all participants were evaluated for MVP symptoms, anxiety level, serum magnesium level, and urine content of adrenaline and noradrenaline. The average number of MVP symptoms in the patients treated with magnesium decreased from 10.4 to 5.6 after treatment. There was no significant change among the patients in the placebo group. The number of patients reporting a high level of anxiety decreased from 32 (54 per cent) to 9 (15 per cent) after supplementation with no change observed in the placebo group. The level of noradrenaline excreted in the urine also declined markedly after magnesium supplementation (from 42 micrograms/gram/24 hours to 26.8 micrograms/gram/24 hours), but increased in the placebo group. The researchers conclude that MVP symptoms are linked to a magnesium deficiency and believe that this deficiency may be caused by an increased release of adrenaline and noradrenaline in MVP patients. They also conclude that magnesium supplementation is effective in combatting MVP symptoms particularly anxiety. They speculate that this beneficial effect could be due to magnesium's ability to inhibit the toxic effects of an excessive release of catecholamines (adrenaline and noradrenaline).
Lichodziejewska, Barbara, et al. Clinical symptoms of mitral valve prolapse are related to hypomagnesemia and attenuated by magnesium supplementation. American Journal of Cardiology, Vol. 79, March 15, 1997, pp. 768-72
Magnesium effective in treatment of osteoporosis
ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA. Dr. Ivor Dreosti of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization has just released a major report detailing the current knowledge of the importance of magnesium in human nutrition. Magnesium is involved in the functioning of more than 200 enzymes and is a key player in the body's energy (ATP) cycle. The recommended dietary intake is 300-400 mg/day (in the U.S.A.), an amount which many scientists now feel may be insufficient. It is also clear that many people do not even get the recommended intake and that this can lead to problems with muscle spasms and
idiopathic mitral valve prolapse. Dr. Dreosti points out that the body's requirement is increased markedly by both stress and vigorous exercise. Recent tests have also shown that exercise capacity can be significantly increased by the use of magnesium supplements. Many researchers are now also reporting that magnesium deficiency plays a significant role in the development of osteoporosis. Studies have shown that women suffering from osteoporosis tend to have a lower magnesium intake than normal and also have lower levels of magnesium in their bones. It is also clear that recommendations to postmenopausal women to increase calcium intake can lead to an unfavourable Ca:Mg ratio unless the magnesium intake is increased accordingly; the optimum ratio of Ca:Mg is believed to be 2:1. A magnesium deficiency can also affect the production of the biologically active form of vitamin D and thereby further promoting osteoporosis. Some very recent research shows that magnesium supplementation is effective in treating osteoporosis. A trial in Israel showed that postmenopausal women suffering from osteoporosis could stop further bone loss by supplementing with 250-750 mg/day of magnesium for two years. Some (8 per cent) of the treated women even experienced a significant increase in trabecular bone density. Untreated controls lost bone mass at the rate of 1 per cent per year. Another experiment in Czechoslovakia found that 65 per cent of women who supplemented with 1500 to 3000 mg of magnesium lactate daily for two years completely got rid of their pain and stopped further development of deformities of the vertebrae. Other studies have shown that magnesium is helpful in the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias and that an adequate intake may help prevent atherosclerosis.
Dreosti, Ivor E. Magnesium status and health. Nutrition Reviews, Vol. 53, No. 9,
From Magnesium researchers, Drs. Mannsman and Mildred Seelig:
MAGNESIUM RESEARCH LABORATORY
DEPARTMENT OF PEDIATRICS
DIVISION OF ALLERGY AND CLINICAL IMMUNOLOGY
HERBERT C. MANSMANN, Jr., M.D.*
Director
REVISED 12/31/02
1.The following conditions, which are associated with MgD, occur statistically and significantly more frequently in females as compared to males; Alzheimer's disease, Carpel Tunnel Syndrome, competitive swimmers symptoms of MgD, diabetes, heart disease (worse types), migraine, Mitral Valve Prolapse Syndrome, osteoporosis and Status Asthmaticus (life-threatening asthma).
Consequences of Magnesium Deficiency on the Enhancement of Stress Reactions; Preventive and Therapeutic Implications (A Review)
Mildred S. Seelig, MD, MPH, Master ACN
Patients with latent tetany of Mg deficiency, who have psychoneurotic complaints (97,98), may also be especially vulnerable to mitral valve prolapse (97,99,100). [
www.barttersite.com]
97. Durlach J: MAGNESIUM IN CLINICAL PRACTICE. (transl by D Wilson), John Libbey & Co, London, UK, 1988.
99. Durlach J, Durlach V: Idiopathic mitral valve prolapse and magnesium. State of the art. Magnesium Bull 8:156-169, 1986.
100. Galland LD, Baker SM, McLellan RK: Magnesium deficiency in the pathogenesis of mitral valve prolapse. 5:165-174, 1986.
From the Intro to Hans paper on Lone Atrial Fibrillation
Atrial fibrillation is the most common cardiac arrhythmia and affects more than 1.5 million Americans. Its primary characteristic is a rapid and irregular heartbeat. The incidence of atrial fibrillation shows a significant increase beyond the age of 50 years and the condition is considerably more common among men than among women. Atrial fibrillation may be chronic or intermittent (paroxysmal) and may be triggered by an underlying heart disease such as mitral valve prolapse or stenosis, coronary artery disease, hypertensive heart disease, a heart attack or an inflammation of the membrane surrounding the heart (pericarditis). Atrial fibrillation is also a common complication of heart surgery(1-3,5-7).
Mitral Valve Prolapse: Can Magnesium Help?
by Melvyn R. Werbach, M.D.
[
www.healthwell.com], February 19, 2004