The Society for Mitral Valve Prolapse Syndrome/Dysautonomia

Fatigue: One of the most common symptoms In MVPS/D.

Chest pain: A frightening symptom.  Along with panic attacks and heart palpitations, chest pain is one of the main reasons people rush to the emergency room.

Palpitations or irregular heart beat: When you have heart palpitations, they can make you feel as though your heart is not beating properly.  Note that whether you describe the palpitations as "flutters", "flip flops," or skipped heartbeats," they all fall into the category of palpitations.

Migraine headaches: Research undertaken by the University of California at San Diego found that men and women with MVPS/D have a greater tendency to suffer from headaches than the normal population (Ford and Ford, 1996).

Anxiety: Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is the name for feeling much more anxiety than the amount, or degree, of anxiety that most people experience in their daily lives.  When you suffer from this disorder, you are almost always anticipating disaster.

Depression: This should not be confused with the occasional feelings of unhappiness that everyone experiences now and then.  With this sadness the moods lift, and people continue being able to function.  Clinical depression does not get better for months, sometimes years, if you do not receive medical help.

Panic attacks: For some time it has been well documented that there is an association between MVPS/D and panic attacks.  The MVP Center in Birmingham, Alabama, found the incidence of panic attacks to be present in 60 percent of their patients who had been diagnosed with MVPS/D.
(Lyn Frederickson, 1992).

Shortness of breath: People with MVPS/D are often out of shape because of their low energy levels.  This is very much a vicious cycle, because the poorer your condition, the lower your tolerance for any kind of activity.  You may notice your heart rate increases greatly with minimal exertions, and you become short of breath.  Exercising regularly will alleviate this symptom.

• Neck aches or pains
• Feeling hot and cold; not related to external temperature