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Have MVP And Anxiety Disorder. Able To Hear Heartbeat And Difficulty To Sleep. On Medication. Cause?
Question: I hear my heartbeat in my ears when lying down or walking up the stairs. It is greater in the left ear than right. I have difficulty falling to sleep and have to switch sides constantly. I am 54 year old female with a mitral valve prolapse and panic/anxiety disorder. Carotid doppler in September 2012 was clear. EKG WNL. Mild regurgitation. Medications are Premarin, Zoloft and Xanax. This problem began approx. 2 months ago.
Hi friend,
Welcome to Health Care Magic
Mild regurgitation is unlikely to cause this.
A normal EKG is reassuring.
If the heart is causing this, then it should be generalised, not limted to the ears.
It may be better to have the ears examined by an expert – blocked ears / middle ear disease – local events may be exagerating / transmitting normal pulsations.
Normal Carotid Doppler is comforting.
However a MRA (MRI Angiography / for neck and skull) – both carotid and vertebral systems – may exclude local vascular pathology. It is non-invasive, done in a single sitting and can exclude intra-cranial vascular malformations.
If there are no pointers, then it is likely from anxiety only. Counselling in addition to the medicines may help.
Take care
Wishing speedy recovery
God bless
Good luck
Welcome to Health Care Magic
Mild regurgitation is unlikely to cause this.
A normal EKG is reassuring.
If the heart is causing this, then it should be generalised, not limted to the ears.
It may be better to have the ears examined by an expert – blocked ears / middle ear disease – local events may be exagerating / transmitting normal pulsations.
Normal Carotid Doppler is comforting.
However a MRA (MRI Angiography / for neck and skull) – both carotid and vertebral systems – may exclude local vascular pathology. It is non-invasive, done in a single sitting and can exclude intra-cranial vascular malformations.
If there are no pointers, then it is likely from anxiety only. Counselling in addition to the medicines may help.
Take care
Wishing speedy recovery
God bless
Good luck
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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