Heart Valve Disease – Symptoms and Causes

overview

With heart valve disease, one or more of your heart’s valves don’t work properly. There are four heart valves, which keep blood flowing through your heart in the right direction. Sometimes the valves don’t open or close completely. This can change the way blood flows from your heart to the rest of your body.

Treatment for heart valve disease depends on which heart valve is affected and the type and severity of the disease. Surgery may be needed to repair or replace the heart valve.

Symptoms

Some people with heart valve disease may not develop symptoms for years. If symptoms do develop, they may include:

• Shortness of breath at rest, during activity, or when lying down.
• Malaise.
• Chest pain.
• dizzy.
• Swelling in the ankles and feet.
• syncope.
• arrhythmia.

When to see a doctor

If you suspect you have symptoms of heart valve disease, schedule an appointment for a checkup. You may be referred to a heart specialist, known as a cardiologist.

Cause

To understand the causes of heart valve disease, it may be helpful to know how the heart works.

The heart has four valves that keep blood flowing in the right direction. These valves are:

• Aortic valve.
• Mitral valve.
• Pulmonary valve.
• Tricuspid valve.

Each valve has flaps called cusps or operculi. The flaps open and close once with each heartbeat. When valve flaps do not open and close properly, less blood flows from the heart to the rest of the body.

Types of heart valve disorders include

• constriction. The valve flaps become thickened and stiff, and sometimes even become fused together. The valve opening becomes narrower. Less blood can flow through the narrowed valve.
• Regurgitation. The valve flaps may not close tightly, allowing blood to flow backwards.
• escape. The valve flaps stretch and droop, bulging backwards like a parachute, a condition that can lead to reflux.
• Atresia. The valves have not formed. A stiff sheet of tissue blocks blood flow between the ventricles. This type usually affects the pulmonary valves.

Some people are born with heart valve disease. This is called congenital heart valve disease. However, adults can also develop heart valve disease. Causes of adult heart valve disease include infection, age-related changes, and other heart diseases.

Risk factor

Factors that increase the risk of heart valve disease include the following:

• Elderly.
• Infectious diseases such as rheumatic fever and blood infections.
• A heart attack or some type of heart disease.
• High blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and other risk factors for heart disease.

complications

Heart valve disease can lead to many complications, including:

• heart failure
• stroke
• Blood clots
• Heart rhythm abnormalities
• death