Heart valve disorders
On this page
- About heart valve disorders
- Causes of heart valve disorders
- Symptoms of heart valve disorders
- Diagnosing heart valve disorders
- Treating heart valve disorders
- Preventing heart valve disorders
- Types of heart valve disorders
About heart valve disorders
The heart has 4 chambers: 2 atria and 2 ventricles. The heart also has 4 valves. These are the aortic valve, mitral valve, pulmonary valve and tricuspid valve. There is 1 valve located at the exit of each chamber. The 4 valves have an important role to play as they control blood flow through and out of the heart.
Heart valve disorder happens when 1 or more of the heart valves don’t open or close properly. This means that the heart has to work harder to pump blood from chamber to chamber and throughout the body.
Causes of heart valve disorders
Causes of heart valve disorders include:
- age, as it leads to normal wear and tear on the heart valves
- being born with heart valves that don’t function properly
- previous heart infections as a result of rheumatic fever and infective (bacterial) endocarditis, which are heart diseases that involve inflammation of the heart
- these infections can damage heart tissue, including the valves and tissue on the outside of the heart
- rheumatic fever begins with a bacterial infection and can cause inflammation of connective tissues, including the heart, joints, brain or skin
- rheumatic fever is most common in childhood
- it may take several years after an episode of rheumatic fever for valve damage to develop or symptoms to appear
- other heart diseases and conditions, such as:
- coronary artery disease
- high blood pressure
- high blood cholesterol
- previous heart attack
- cardiomyopathy (a disease of the heart muscle)
- radiation therapy to the chest due to cancer
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Symptoms of heart valve disorders
Symptoms of heart valve disorders include:
- shortness of breath
- fatigue or weakness
- dizziness or fainting
- swollen abdomen, ankles or feet
- chest pain or pressure (angina)
- a fast pounding heartbeat or an irregular heartbeat (palpitations)
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Diagnosing heart valve disorders
Your health care provider can diagnose a heart valve disorder based on the symptoms you describe and a physical exam.
A valve that doesn’t work properly often makes the clear sound of a heart murmur. Your health care provider can hear this with a stethoscope.
Your health care provider will also:
- listen to your lungs to check for fluid buildup
- look for swelling in your abdomen, feet and ankles
Tests that can help with the diagnosis include:
- chest X-ray
- exercise stress test
- heart MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)
- electrocardiogram (ECG/EKG), which is a graph of the heart’s electrical activity
- echocardiogram, which uses sound waves (ultrasound) to make a picture of your heart
- cardiac catheterization, which inserts a thin, flexible tube called a catheter into a large blood vessel leading to your heart and:
- measures the pressure and blood flow in your heart
- evaluates your heart muscle function for moving blood through each chamber
Treating heart valve disorders
Treatment varies and depends on the severity of the condition. In many cases, medications can be used to help relieve symptoms of heart valve disorder. It’s important to have regular check-ups with your health care provider. If you have new symptoms or your symptoms get worse, your health care provider may recommend surgery. This would be needed to repair or replace the valve that isn’t working properly.
Preventing heart valve disorders
A heart valve disorder isn’t preventable if present at birth (congenital) or caused by an infection.
Aside from those scenarios, there are many different ways to reduce your risk of heart valve disorder and other heart-related conditions. These include:
- eating a variety of healthy foods
- being physically active regularly
- maintaining a healthy weight
- quitting (or not starting) smoking
- managing stress
- limiting alcohol use
- regularly monitoring your blood pressure
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Types of heart valve disorders
There are 3 types of heart valve disorders: atresia, regurgitation and stenosis.
Atresia occurs when there’s no opening in the heart valve for the blood to pass through. Most of the time, atresia is present at birth (congenital heart defect) or, less frequently, can develop later in life.
Regurgitation occurs when a valve doesn’t seal tightly. As a result, the blood leaks backward instead of flowing forward through the heart or into an artery. This condition causes the heart to work harder to pump the same amount of blood.
Stenosis is a narrowing or obstruction in heart valves, arteries or veins that affects the flow of blood. It occurs if the flaps of a valve thicken, stiffen or fuse together. This increases the risk of blood clots and causes the heart to work harder.
If a heart valve disorder goes untreated, you may be at risk of:
- stroke
- blood clots
- heart failure
- death due to sudden cardiac arrest, which is when your heart stops
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