In patients with mitral regurgitation, the lungs become congested with fluid. As fluid accumulates in the lungs, it interferes with the absorption of oxygen from the lungs into the bloodstream. This leads to shortness of breath. Some patients feel short of breath when they exercise or exert themselves.
Some patients feel short of breath when they lie down at night.
They may need to sleep with their heads elevated to avoid waking up in the middle of the night feeling short of breath. Heart murmur is caused by the turbulent flow of blood from the left ventricle across the mitral valve and back into the left atrium. Sometimes a heart murmur is detected incidentally during a routine examination. In many cases, it is found when a patient seeks a doctor's evaluation for shortness of breath symptoms. The echocardiogram uses sound waves to image the mitral valve and the chambers of the heart.