"Gallop" in heart rhythm &/or Mitral Valve problems

[mrsfru]

Anyone's child have what's called an S3 gallop in their heart rhythm? Do they have other signs or actual dx of heart problems? If so, what exactly? Does your child have any symptoms? Does he/she have mitral valve problems?

DS1 doesn't have a "heart dx", but he does have an S3 gallop rhythm and a few changes on the echo (slightly/borderline enlarged heart and slightly/borderline enlarged left atrium, and possibly some slight changes in his mitral valve). The ped's cardio thinks that he either had a viral infection a few months back (he also had coughing & fatigue) OR that we are seeing the very, very early signs of a serious problem. Obviously, we are hoping it's the first one! According to our cardio, this rhythm is NOT something he normally hears in 4 yr olds, and he's alarmed. He has said that occasionally someone will have an unusual finding and it will be just that...a finding...but he doesn't sound positive about this w/ds.

Anyone hear of this or have any thoughts?

Thanks!

mrsfru

[2boyzmama]

I have a cousin with mitral valve prolapse. It was discovered accidentally when she was a teenager and had an episode of vasovagal syncope (she passed out on the toilet, poor thing!). What's odd about it, though, is she had been in a serious car accident at 9 years old and was in the hospital for weeks plus several surgeries. No one found it. She also was a runner, and had had several sports physicals, and no one found it.

SO, the virus theory was mentioned for her too. They thought a virus damaged her heart, either that or lots of drs missed it for years!

Anyway, she's an adult now, and has no problems. She was monitored a little more closely during pregnancy, and she did have a c/s (partially because of the injury from that car accident, partially because of fear she would pass out from pushing).

[Hopesmommy]

Originally Posted by mrsfru

Anyone's child have what's called an S3 gallop in their heart rhythm? Do they have other signs or actual dx of heart problems? If so, what exactly? Does your child have any symptoms? Does he/she have mitral valve problems?

DS1 doesn't have a "heart dx", but he does have an S3 gallop rhythm and a few changes on the echo (slightly/borderline enlarged heart and slightly/borderline enlarged left atrium, and possibly some slight changes in his mitral valve). The ped's cardio thinks that he either had a viral infection a few months back (he also had coughing & fatigue) OR that we are seeing the very, very early signs of a serious problem. Obviously, we are hoping it's the first one! According to our cardio, this rhythm is NOT something he normally hears in 4 yr olds, and he's alarmed. He has said that occasionally someone will have an unusual finding and it will be just that...a finding...but he doesn't sound positive about this w/ds.

Anyone hear of this or have any thoughts?

Thanks!

mrsfru

My son had a gallop, cardiomyopathy, mitral valve regurgitation with a bout of the flu when he was 8 months. He supposed to be fine now, but he will actually have an echo next month to make sure that everything is going well.

[Lollybrat]

I have mitral valve prolapse with mitral regurgitation. It was first discovered when I was about 4 years old, although I didn't know about it until I was 16.

For me it's a minor health concern and an annoyance. I've had lots of tests done on it and it's stable, so it's not expected to get any worse unless I have some major illness or accident.

For me, the main issues are:
- need to take antibiotics for the dentist and some other proceedures to reduce the risk of getting an infection (not all doctors recommend this now and it depends on the amount of mitral regurgitation). I did need IV antibiotics during labor (vaginal delivery).
- A tendency for heart palpitations and chest pain when tired/anxious/stressed/sick or with phyiscial over-exertion. This was scary when I was young.
- A tendency for anxiety/panic attacks in my teen/young adult years. I've since learned to better control this.

Mitral valve prolapse is pretty common, so there is a lot of information available on it. But like a lot of other conditions, there is also a lot of misimformation, so you need be careful of your sources. It can also be genetic, so if you have other children you may want to have them checked out too.

(Sorry for the typos. I'm in an hurry and don't have time to proofread.)

[mrsfru]

Originally Posted by Hopesmommy

My son had a gallop, cardiomyopathy, mitral valve regurgitation with a bout of the flu when he was 8 months. He supposed to be fine now, but he will actually have an echo next month to make sure that everything is going well.

Hopesmommy,

How old is your son now?

DS had an xray, echo, EKG, etc in Aug AND in Nov...and it has NOT gone away yet or gotten better. The second visit they noticed more than they did in August. I'm really hoping that it was from a virus and it will heal, b/c the alternative is not sounding good (it's not the fairly standard "mitral valve prolaspse", although gallops can be associated w/this).

Thanks for sharing--I really appreciate it!

mrsfru

[mrsfru]

Thanks Lolly and 2Boys--I appreciate your stories.

I don't really think the cardio is leaning towards MVP, although that may be part of this later (that's why I didn't mention an MVP--the cardio never talked about that at all). I can't really give a good explanation of what he told me he's concerned about, but it's not the same as the MVP. I do know a bit about MVP, b/c my best friend has it. It runs in her family, and she has had dysautonomia w/it and unusual heart rhythms.

Lolly--do you have a "gallop" heart rhythm and if so, did you have it when you were young? It seems one of the most concerning aspects of this for the ped is that ds is only 4 yrs old, and he says that the youngest he ever hears these is adolescence w/specific heart issues or young adults.

Thanks so much!

mrsfru

[Lollybrat]

Originally Posted by mrsfru

Thanks Lolly and 2Boys--I appreciate your stories.

I don't really think the cardio is leaning towards MVP, although that may be part of this later (that's why I didn't mention an MVP--the cardio never talked about that at all). I can't really give a good explanation of what he told me he's concerned about, but it's not the same as the MVP. I do know a bit about MVP, b/c my best friend has it. It runs in her family, and she has had dysautonomia w/it and unusual heart rhythms.

Lolly--do you have a "gallop" heart rhythm and if so, did you have it when you were young? It seems one of the most concerning aspects of this for the ped is that ds is only 4 yrs old, and he says that the youngest he ever hears these is adolescence w/specific heart issues or young adults.

Thanks so much!

mrsfru

Sorry for the delay in responding.

I have always had a "click" murmur, as is common in MVP. I do also have a "gallop", which is due to the Mitral Regurgitation. But I don't think I had the gallop as a kid. My mother only remembers being told about the click, so I think the gallop first showed up when I an older teen or young adult.

My Mom said that when they first detected the murmur (when I was 4) they considered rheumatic fever as a possible cause, since I had frequent bouts of strep at that age. But the doctor later decided that was not the case. Then the doctor thought I might outgrow the murmur. That didn't happen and after echos and EKGs I ended up getting the MVP/MR diagnosis as a teenager.

But it sounds like your child has more complex issues than MVP, which I didn't realize from my reading of your original post (my fault, not yours). So I'm not sure that my experience helps.

I hope your son's cardio is able to give you some answers soon!

[mrsfru]

But it sounds like your child has more complex issues than MVP, which I didn't realize from my reading of your original post (my fault, not yours). So I'm not sure that my experience helps.

Lolly,

It does help--every bit I hear is helpful! I've wondered if if might turn into MVP, b/c he did mention the mitral valve looking different this last visit..what's funny is that the doc is so perplexed. DS has always had a murmur, which I think they all thought he would outgrow. DH and I both have murmurs, too, which have always been there and never proven to be a problem.

Baby crying..gotta go! Thanks!

mrsfru