The Way to Understand Heart Valve Diseases

Before you can understand heart valve diseases, it is important that the structure of the heart be studied first. Our hearts consist of four chambers. And it is further grouped into two, the upper chambers and the lower chambers. The upper chambers are called the left and right atria. The lower chambers, on the other hand, are called the left and right ventricles. And there are valves that virtually connect all of them together. Blood has to pass through these valves before going onto the next chamber.

So in essence there are four valves as well. These are the tricuspid valve, the pulmonary valve, the mitral valve, and the aortic valve. The main job of these valves is to prevent blood from flowing backwards. All valves are equipped with have flaps to make sure that blood moves only in a forward manner.

There are two known malfunctions of the heart valves. Patients will have either one of them or, in unusual cases, both of them at the same time. The first type of disorder is regurgitation. This means that the valve fails to close completely. And when that happens, the blood will start to flow backward instead of going forward.

The other valve dysfunction is called stenosis. Stenosis is the condition wherein the valves become too narrow it inhibits the normal flow of the blood. And when this happens, the heart’s tendency is to work harder and increase the force it exerts in pumping blood. And we all know that when the heart works overtime, heart failure would eventually happen.

Heart valve diseases could be mild, severe, or anything in between. Mild cases of heart valve diseases may have no symptoms at all. The more severe cases, however, will do have symptoms. And it would include chest pains and palpitations, together with shortness of breath and fatigue. Migraine headaches and dizziness are also felt. One’s blood pressure is going to be erratic too. It could either be very low or very high, depending upon which heart valve problem exists. Some patients may also feel pain in the abdominal area, especially if the tricuspid valve is the one affected.

The causes of heart valve diseases are too many. It may arise due to rheumatic fever, heart attack, infection, and even aging. It may also be congenital, which means the deformity is present during birth. Syphillis, a sexually transmitted disease and myxomatous degeneration, which is a connective tissue disorder, can both cause heart valve diseases.

Heart valve diseases can be diagnosed simply through physical examination. Doctors would usually search for abnormal sound in the heart using their stethoscopes. But to reach a more accurate diagnosis, tests like electrocardiogram and chest MRI are performed. Chest x-rays and cardiac catheterization may also be conducted. Other tests like transesophageal echo and radionuclide scans may also be carried out.

The treatment for this disease varies greatly as to which valve is in question and how it is affected. As always, doctors would attempt to treat it with medications. Drugs like beta-blockers, calcium channel blockers, and digoxin are prescribed so as to handle the symptoms associated with the disease. Other drugs like diuretics, vasodilators, and the ones that manage blood pressure are also given.

When these drugs fail, there are two surgical methods that doctors may do on the patient. The choice between this two depends upon the severity of the heart valve disease the patient has. The first option is to repair the heart valve. Repair would include the cutting of the valve’s damaged flaps, the insertion of medical devices, or the remodeling of the tissues of the valve.

But if the heart valve is beyond repair, replacement may be necessary. This is the second option of doctors. They usually go for this method if the valve affected is severely destroyed. Replacement valves can come from human donors or from similar animal valves. Mechanical valves, which can be plastic, metal, or artificial, may also be used.