If you’ve been told you have a heart murmur, don’t leave your health to chance; book a specialized consultation in Leesburg at NitzaMD.com to understand your true risk.

When JoAnn was told she had a heart murmur, her first thought was that she would have known about it her whole life. But as Dr. Nitza Alvarez explains to her patients in Lake County, heart murmurs aren’t always something you are born with. As we mature, our heart valves can calcify and harden, creating new sounds and new risks.

To help JoAnn understand the severity, her doctor let her listen to her husband’s heart and then her own. The difference was startling. One was clear; the other was the sound of a struggle. This is why establishing a “baseline” is so critical. Without that comparison, you might not realize how much your heart’s “rhythm” has changed.

JoAnn’s valve was so severely stenosed that her risk of sudden death was 40% within a year if she had started showing major symptoms. Don’t wait for the sound to become a crisis. If your doctor in The Villages mentions a murmur, it’s time for a specialized cardiac evaluation in Leesburg.

Medical disclaimer: This article is for education only and does not replace medical advice. Seek emergency care for severe symptoms.