Can mitral valve prolapse (MVP) cause panic attacks?
The diagnosis of mitral valve prolapse has had a somewhat murky past. According to some authorities, MVP may have been over diagnosed on the basis of heart as well as echocardiographic examination. Because of the overdiagnosis, a very high percentage of the population was thought to have mitral valve prolapse in the past. Because of overestimation of prevalence of mitral valve prolapse in the population, many other common conditions including panic disorder may have been wrongly thought to be associated with it. To help understand this, let us say I practice in an area where 95% of the population is of Italian descent. Being a cardiologist in this community, most of the patients coming to my hospital with heart attack are likely to be of Italian descent. Because people of Italian descent and heart problem are two common denominators of my practice, I could be tricked into believing that heart problem is predominantly a disease of people of Italian descent.
