What is Heart Valve Disease?
Heart valves allow blood to flow through your heart chambers. These valves open and close for every heartbeat to allow blood to flow through your heart while also preventing the blood from flowing the wrong way.
Your heart has four valves, each of which serves its own unique purpose in supporting your heart:
- Mitral
- Tricuspid
- Aortic
- Pulmonary
Heart valves can become diseased, reducing the amount of blood flow going through your heart or out of your heart and causing your heart to be overworked or work improperly. Heart valve disease can cause heart failure, arrhythmias, blood clots, strokes, pulmonary hypertension, dizziness, shortness of breath, fainting and cardiac arrest.
Not all heart valve disease looks the same, so it is important to understand the difference. There are four types of heart valve disease:
- Stenosis: The narrowing of a valve opening.
- Regurgitation: When a valve allows blood to leak backwards.
- Prolapse: Stretching that prevents the valve from closing tightly.
- Atresia: A condition diagnosed at birth in which a heart valve forms incorrectly.
What Causes Heart Valve Disease?
Several factors can cause heart valve disease, including conditions that are out of your control. Some common causes include:
- Pre-existing heart conditions (e.g., heart attack, thoracic aortic aneurysm, heart failure, infective endocarditis, congenital defects, calcification of valve tissue)
- Genetics or family history of valve problems
- Aging process
- Lupus
- Marfan syndrome
- Rheumatic fever
- Receiving radiation treatment for cancer
- Other conditions that impact your heart
What Should I Do if I Think I Have Heart Valve Disease?
If you are experiencing symptoms of heart valve disease, including fatigue, shortness of breath, palpitations, edema, weakness, dizziness, weight gain or chest pain, it is important to consult your provider as soon as possible.
If your provider suspects heart valve disease may be present, you will likely undergo some tests to reach a diagnosis. Once you have received a diagnosis, your provider will be able to manage your condition to help prevent further damage to your heart. Medications, surgery, minimally invasive transcatheter heart valve procedures and regular visits to your cardiologist may be deemed necessary depending on your condition.
What is Structural Heart Disease?
Structural heart disease is a relatively new term that encompasses various types of heart conditions. These conditions include abnormalities in the heart’s structure and diseases affecting the heart valves, according to the Cardiovascular Research Foundation.
You may be born with structural heart disease, known as a congenital heart defect in this case, or you can get structural heart disease later in life due to an illness, injury or due to the aging process. Examples of congenital heart defects include abnormally formed heart valves or holes in the septum, which is the dividing wall between the right and left sides of the heart.
12% of adults 75 years or older have acquired structural heart disease affecting valves, including aortic stenosis, mitral regurgitation and related conditions. Also, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1% of babies born each year have a congenital heart defect.
Untreated structural heart disease can result in heart attack, heart failure, stroke or death.
How is Structural Heart Disease Diagnosed?
Structural heart disease can be diagnosed through imaging. Imaging options include an echocardiogram, computed tomography (CT) scan, MRI or cardiac catheterization (“heart cath”).
Treatment for Structural Heart Disease
Treatment for structural heart disease depends on the type of disease present. Procedures, such as valve replacement or repair procedures, are common treatments. Some conditions require lifelong management and monitoring.
UofL Physicians – Cardiology offers structural cardiology services dedicated to delivering advanced, minimally invasive treatments for heart valve disease. To learn more, call 502-588-7010.
