I have palpitations due to mitral valve prolapse despite taking Metoprolol. Kindly help me.

Question

Hi doctor,

I am a 33-year-old female of height 5'2" and weight 134 pounds. I was diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse three and a half years ago. My last check-up was two and a half years ago. My current medication is Metoprolol 50 mg half tablet twice daily. My symptoms are palpitation that usually happens before, during, and after my menstruation period or before the day of my ovulation that usually lasts for three to five days. So it is more or less 13 days I suffer palpitation in a month. During the episode, I need to lie down cause I feel like fainting or black dots would appear on my vision, and it feels like there is something heavy on my chest area that I need to put a little effort into breathing. I also cannot lift heavy objects or tire myself out cause it will trigger the palpitation that may last for hours. Kindly help me.

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

You are already taking Metoprolol 50 mg half tablet twice daily. There is the option to increase it to a full tablet once and later twice daily or switch to Propranolol 10 mg, which I feel is more effective in treating palpitations due to mitral valve prolapse. If even this fails, then the last resort is electrophysiology study and ablation of this worrisome source of palpitations. I hope this was helpful.