Valvular Heart Disease

CACERES MEDICAL GROUP

Valvular heart disease is the name given to any dysfunction or abnormality of one or more of the heart's four valves, including the mitral valve and aortic valve on the left side, and the tricuspid valve and pulmonic valve on the right side. In a normally functioning heart, the four valves (flaps made of tissue) keep blood flowing in one direction and only at the right time. They act as gates that swing open to allow blood to flow through and then tightly shut until the next cycle begins.

According to the American Heart Association’s2006 Heart and Stroke Statistical Update, valvular heart disease is responsible for nearly 20,000 deaths each year in the United States and is a contributing factor in about 42,000 deaths. The majority of these cases involve disorders of the aortic valve (63 percent) and the mitral valve (14 percent). Deaths due to pulmonic and tricuspid valve disorders are rarer (0.06 percent and 0.01 percent, respectively).

Valvular heart disease in women may pose a greater risk of complications in pregnancy – to the mother and to the fetus. This is largely due to the normal increase in the amount of blood flow to the body from the heart (cardiac output) during pregnancy. Some heart valve conditions, like mitral valve prolapse, are not typically associated with pregnancy complications. Severe aortic stenosis, though, should be corrected before a woman becomes pregnant. Depending on the type of valve disorder, women will be advised to have regular visits to a cardiologist during the course of their pregnancy.

There are a number of types of valvular heart disease, including:

Valvular stenosis. A condition in which there is a narrowing, stiffening, thickening, fusion or blockage of one or more valves of the heart. As a result, the defective valve can interfere with the smooth passage of blood through it. Depending on which valve is affected, the diagnosis may be aortic stenosis, mitral stenosis, pulmonic stenosis or tricuspid stenosis.
Valvular regurgitation. A condition in which blood leaks back in the wrong direction because one or more of the heart’s valves is closing improperly. The nature and severity of the leakage, in turn, may keep the heart from circulating an adequate amount of blood through the defective valve. Depending on which valve is affected, the diagnosis may be aortic regurgitation, mitral regurgitation, pulmonary regurgitation, or tricuspid regurgitation.