Patient was educated that signs and symptoms of mitral regurgitation can vary from mild to severe depending on the degree of regurgitation and the extent of obstruction to the blood return. Signs and symptoms are as follows:
- Diminished function of vital organs
- Compromised blood and oxygen supply to the vital organs affect their function gradually. Blood supply could be reduced to all organs, such as, brain, heart, lung, stomach, and kidneys, affecting their function.
- Palpitations and arrhythmia
- Damaged heart muscle, secondary to poor blood and oxygen supply to the heart muscle, can lead to palpitations and arrhythmias.
- Heart failure
- Patients can present with symptoms of heart failure over time, such as, fluid retention in the chest leading to difficulty in gas exchange in the lungs, swelling of the extremities with pitting edema, and grossly limited exercise tolerance with exacerbation of episodes of shortness of breath.
- Weakness and fatigue
- Reduced blood supply to the muscles can result in reduced oxygen supply to the muscle, thus leading to muscle pain, fatigue, and reduced endurance to activity.
