Head and neck lymphedema can be caused by surgery or radiation therapy for tongue or throat cancer. It may also occur in the lower limbs or groin after surgery for colon, ovarian or uterine cancer, in which removal of lymph nodes or radiation therapy is required.
1 Heart attack. A heart attack can damage the area of the heart muscle that supports the mitral valve, affecting the function of the valve. If the damage is extensive enough, a heart attack can cause sudden and severe mitral valve regurgitation.  Abnormality of the heart muscle (cardiomyopathy).
Mitral valve regurgitation is a condition where the oxygenated blood flows backwards into the lungs as opposed to flowing through. 1  Patients have angina arrhythmia and shortness of breath. 2  Narrowed valve is one more reason for valve replacement in cases like aortic stenosis or mitral stenosis.