What is mitral valve prolapse syndrome?
Forty percent of patients with mitral valve prolapse also have an imbalance of the autonomic nervous system, or ANS, called dysautonomia. The autonomic nervous system is composed of two systems; the parasympathetic and the sympathetic. It controls virtually all bodily functions, such as respiration, heartbeat, blood pressure, vision, and digestion. When the autonomic nervouse system is out of balance it can cause myriad of symptoms, including panic attacks, anxiety, fatigue, palpitations, migraines, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and more. This combination of symptoms is know as Mitral Valve Prolapse Syndrome. Diagnosis is made by physical examination, a careful medical history, and an echocardiogram. Unfortunately, a mitral valve prolapse does not always show up on an echocardiogram. Thus, mitral valve prolapse syndrrome is a clinical diagnosis. Usually symptoms do not show up before the age of 14 or 15, but more and more children display central nervous system symptoms before the mi
