I have been a big natural weight lifter since age 18. I was always one of the biggest guys in my group of friends and in general. I weighed 230 at age 21 with 14% body fat. I continued training hard 3-4 days a week. Curling 65 lb dumbbells and doing 120 lb overhead dumbbell presses (in each arm) was not uncommon. I have felt great this entire time except for one or two nights where I would get a flutter in my chest.

4 months ago I stopped exercising because I started feeling these skipped heart beats more often when resting or getting up quickly. It was during this time that I stopped my long time addiction to mj. My addiction and the weight lifting seemed to start together, intensify together, and cease together.

I have recently been to the doctor and diagnosed with borderline mitral valve prolapse. He also said that my left atrium is 1.1 (cm?) on a scale that goes up to 1.2; so I'm guessing that's enlarged to a degree. I did a cardio stress test on a treadmill and only had 2 PVC's. My electrocardiogram and Holter monitor (48 hour) came back normal.

The doctor told me I can continue exercising but without doing very heavy sets like the last reps where you turn red in the face. He said I should do more aerobic exercising than anaerobic. This will be a big challenge for me as I rarely ever did any cardio. My body will undoubtedly turn from beefy to lean over time. Losing my big frame will be tough as I have been used to being the big guy all the guys look to for advice and the girls wish their boyfriends looked like (not to sound conceited).

During these past few months I also developed a hyper awareness of my body, especially my heart. If I feel something funny or I exert myself lifting an object it will set off an anxiety or panic that will control me for the next few hours. I'm afraid to do any exercising because I fear that my heart will skip a beat.

I'm not sure why all these symptoms have seemed to start around the time I ceased my addiction. I'm not sure if my brain is just creating these sensations and it's all in my head, because it feels so real. I know I have a defect in my heart that could cause these symptoms but it's strange that they started when I stopped working out and stopped my bad habit. You would think they would happen during the stated activities and not months after.

I guess I wrote this to see if anyone has MVP or has had similar experiences in their life. I'm not trying to break any forum rules with my post but I don't know who to ask about this that has been a weight lifter like me in other forums. Most people with mvp don't even exercise. I would like to get back into working out and would like to hear from other people who share this problem if possible.

Thanks.