What is a mitral valve prolapse? Mitral valve prolapse, also called MVP, is a relatively common condition where the mitral valve (the inlet valve to the left sided pumping chamber) does not work correctly. In this condition the two flaps of the mitral valve, called the leaflets, don’t close smoothly or evenly. This is due to…
What is pectus carinatum? Pectus carinatum is a disorder where the front chest bone (called the sternum), instead of being on the same level of the chest ribs, is pushed forward so that the middle part of the chest is more evident. In this condition there might be other areas of the chest (the ribs) which…
What is pectus excavatum? Pectus excavatum, also referred to as sunken chest, is a deformity in the structure of the anterior wall of the chest in which there is an abnormal shape of the sternum (the front chest bone) and the rib cage. This results in a caved-in or sunken appearance of the anterior part of…
Whats is POTS? POTS is a syndrome (a combination of different symptoms) caused by a malfunction of the autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system is a complicated network of nerves that controls some vital bodily functions and which works in an automatic mode out of our voluntary control. For example when we stand up…
What is Kawasaki disease Kawasaki disease is a condition where the body develops an inflammation of the small and medium sized arteries of the bodies. To explain what an inflammation is, it is fair to compare it to a burn, where the area affected becomes tender, swollen, red and hot. This inflammation causes a weakening…
What is a heart palpitation? Heart palpitation is the feeling a person has that the heart is beating fast or irregularly. Sometimes children report a missing heart beat feeling (lasting for only a second or a few seconds) or the feeling that the heart is beating faster (and sometimes stronger) than it should in conditions…