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Mitro valve prolapse and E

I am a 19 year old female wanting to try ecstasy for the first time.

About six months ago I was diagnosed with a minor heart condition called MVP (Mitro Valve Prolapse). I went to see my doctor because I felt tired and experienced a feeling of 'shortness of breath'. I'm sure that most of my problems are due to anxiety and worrying too much but my heart was beating very fast, sometimes just out of the blue. I had a cardiogram and blood tests, was diagnosed with MVP and given medication for when I feel this shortness of breath or my heart beating too fast. That was about six or seven months ago and I've never had to take the medications prescribed to me, and I've never really felt the heart problems that I did at the time, with the exception of slight panic attacks caused from worrying or anxiety.

I don't and haven't used any drugs other than smoking pot, so my main concern is whether taking ecstasy could cause the symptoms of MVP to come back? I read in 'E is for Ecstasy' that "cardiac disease is known to predispose sudden death", which made me begin to worry and think I could be at risk.

I just want to have a good time and relax with my friends and my boyfriend but I don't want to die or harm my presently healthy body.

A doctor replies:

In response to whether taking ecstasy could cause symptoms of MVP to come back, I would say: definitely. MVP is related to panic attacks, agoraphobia and other anxiety disorders, and I would consider you to be at substantially increased risk of having a relapse of these symptoms if you took Ecstasy outside of a therapeutic set and setting.

Having read your history, it is my professional opinion that you should definitely not take Ecstasy. Lovers did very well indeed having fun with each other before Ecstasy was invented.