Mitral regurgitation?!

Mitral regurgitation?

Hey everyone i have mitral regurgitation, some of the symptoms include fatigue and shortness of breath. would this prevent me from taking sports to the next level as in pro or no. also its mild according to the cardiologist and im in very good shape, im just worried aboutt his and i have frequent palpitations, which feels very uncomfortable.

1 week ago
Im planning to pursue it to the nba.

It depends what causes it.

I had it twice, and recovered both times to where I do not feel any shortness of breath and can exercise very hard.

First time it was caused by an infection. A virus the doctor suspects entered through the mouth went to the heart, and the leaflets of the valve became swollen, allowing blood to pass through. Prior to the infection, I could walk double stepping 54 floors of stairs without getting tired. I was out of breath with a little pain in 4 floors with it.

Second time, I strained some tiny muscles or ligaments that pull the valve closed. That was worse. I could hardly walk without being out of breath.

What I did was back-off from almost any exercise for about three to four months, then very slowly start back at cardio rehab. The four months will cost you about 3-4% a week in lost fitness, but you can regain it over the following year.

If you don't let it rest and heal, and recover, it won't be able to heal, and definitely will not improve. It could get worse from more high end exercise.

A big key for me in physical rehab was to never exercise so I was out of breath. I also used a heart rate monitor so I could see my heart was tiring (rate going up) before I could feel it tired.

Always warmup slowly before you exercise, a good 10 minutes, and take 5 minutes afterwards to cooldown slowly. If you have not been doing this, that may be how you aggravated the valve in the first place.

I don't know if you'll find many other current or former high end athletes with MR. But I am one, and I recovered.