The book was very very thin, I thought it would have been a book with more information in it, seemed almost like an informational packet you would receive at a doctors office.
Rating: 1 / 5

This book, more than ten years old now but still available, is good on the whole, but has flaws.

It does not mention that the prevalence of mitral valve prolapse is substantially greater in patients with autoimmune thyroid disorders. See “Mitral Valve Prolapse and Thyroid Disease” on Mary Shomon’s website. Some of the symptoms of MVP listed in the book, eg cold hands and feet, are symptoms of hypothyroidism.

In the section dealing with associated chronic conditions, chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia are mentioned. These are essentially thyroid problems and can be treated with thyroid hormones. See Dr John Lowe’s website.

Dizziness and balance problems are listed as MVP symptoms, but not discussed in the book. These problems can be serious because they can cause falls and serious injuries.

A tendency to faint is a MVP symptom not even mentioned. Make sure those around you know what to do if you faint.

The unstable autonomic nervous system of MVP can also affect body temperature. Very low body temperatures can occur and cause difficulties, even hypothermia in extreme cases.

Readers are assured that MVP is “rarely associated with any serious cardiac problems”. However, in some cases there is in fact a need for surgery to repair or replace the mitral valve, or sudden unexpected death may occur, even in young or middle-aged people. This is glossed over in the book, apparently so that readers will not worry. But if the syndrome and the surgery and the deaths run in a family, it is proper to be concerned.

The “Diet Modification” section is good in parts and less good in other parts. The problems caused by a high sugar, high carbohydrate diet are stressed, and the advice to go off sugar completely or almost completely is good. However, steering people towards a high protein diet is NOT good. It is apparently done because of a common but quite unwarranted and now definitely discredited fear of fat. There are three macronutrients — protein, carbohydrate and fat; if you greatly reduce carbohydrate you are left with protein and fat. As it is DANGEROUS to consume a high protein diet (especially with low fat), moderate protein and high fat is the way to go, and the fat should be mainly saturated. See the internet articles “Saturated fat is good for you” by Ravnskov; “What if it’s all been a big fat lie?” by Taubes; “Does high cholesterol REALLY cause heart disease?” by Ravnskov; and “Why low-carb diets must be high-fat, not high-protein” by Barry Groves.

Incidentally, the author should realise that it is useless and counter-productive to advocate a low-carbohydrate diet at one moment and at the next to recommend grains of any kind in the diet, even if they have a low glycemic index. As soon as you start eating ANY grain or legume, it starts turning into sugar, the worst kind of carbohydrate!

It is important to know that not everyone with MVP has the syndrome, but also that some people have the syndrome or aspects of it without the prolapse. The symptoms might occur intermittently for years or even decades (mystifying doctors and annoying sufferers) until the actual prolapse shows up later in life. Symptoms can also go away and return seemingly at random.

It would be good if an updated version of this book could be published, covering these points. But even as it is, with its flaws, it is useful not only for patients but also for giving to doctors and cardiologists who tend to be ignorant on this topic.

Rating: 4 / 5

This is a short, yet thorough and informative book on some alternative approaches to this sometimes overwhelming syndrome. I learned a great deal from this book and utilize what I have learned on a daily basis.
Rating: 5 / 5