If not treated, advanced heart valve disease can cause heart failure, stroke, blood clots or sudden death due to sudden cardiac arrest. So we’ll do our utmost to care for it.
Your heart has four valves. When one or more of the heart valves aren’t working properly, this is known as heart valve disease.
You rely on your heart valves to pump blood in the correct direction. However, one or more of the heart valves doesn’t open or close properly. This can cause a disruption in blood flow between your heart and the rest of your body.
Some people may not show symptoms of heart valve disease for years. For years this condition can go undetected. Many people with mild valve disease do not exhibit symptoms, so the illness can easily be undiagnosed and untreated. The severity of symptoms does not necessarily correlate to the severity of the valve disease. You could have no symptoms at all yet have severe valve disease.
When signs and symptoms do arise, they may be the following:
For some people, they can be born with heart valve disease. This is called congenital heart valve disease. The condition can be alone or grouped with other congenital heart defects. Heart valve disease can develop over time too. As people get older or have additional heart conditions, this disease has a higher chance of developing.
Heart valve disease can be classified in three different ways.
Your doctor will ask to conduct a physical exam and listen for a heart murmur as possible sign of a heart valve condition. Diagnostic tests may include:
How your doctor treats you for heart valve disease depends on your symptoms, severity of the condition and whether your condition is worsening. Your doctor may recommend you start with the following treatments:
Surgeons will often tighten or reinforce the ring around a valve by implanting an artificial ring. Doctors may also repair certain heart valves by using catheters.
If the surgeon believes the heart valve can’t be repaired, they may remove the damaged valve and replace it with a mechanical valve. Other options include valves from cows, pig or human heart tissue. A minimally invasive procedure, transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) may be used to replace a damaged aortic valve.
If you develop heart valve disease, INTEGRIS Health physicians, cardiologists and specialists will do their utmost to care for you. Our cutting-edge technologies and procedures brought to you by INTEGRIS Health Heart Hospital mean you often get maximally successful results with the latest in minimally invasive robotic or laparoscopic surgeries and procedures.
If you are over the age of 40, check the risk factors. Schedule a Heart Scan today.
