As a result, not enough blood flows through the valve. Some valves can have both stenosis and backflow problems. Some people are born with heart valve disease, while others acquire it later in life. Heart valve disease that develops before birth is called congenital heart valve disease.
Congenital heart valve disease can occur alone or with other congenital heart defects. Congenital heart valve disease often involves pulmonary or aortic valves that don't form properly. These valves may not have enough tissue flaps, they may be the wrong size or shape, or they may lack an opening through which blood can flow properly. Acquired heart valve disease usually involves aortic or mitral valves. Although the valves are normal at first, problems develop over time.
Many people have heart valve defects or disease but don't have symptoms. For some people, the condition mostly stays the same throughout their lives and doesn't cause any problems. For other people, heart valve disease slowly worsens until symptoms develop. If not treated, advanced heart valve disease can cause heart failure , stroke , blood clots, or death due to sudden cardiac arrest SCA.
Currently, no medicines can cure heart valve disease. However, lifestyle changes and medicines can relieve many of its symptoms and complications. These treatments also can lower your risk of developing a life-threatening condition, such as stroke or SCA. Eventually, you may need to have your faulty heart valve repaired or replaced. Some types of congenital heart valve disease are so severe that the valve is repaired or replaced during infancy, childhood, or even before birth.
Other types may not cause problems until middle-age or older, if at all. Heart conditions and other disorders, age-related changes, rheumatic fever, or infections can cause acquired heart valve disease. These factors change the shape or flexibility of once-normal heart valves. It occurs before birth as the heart is forming.
Congenital heart valve disease can occur alone or with other types of congenital heart defects. Untreated strep throat or other infections with strep bacteria that progress to rheumatic fever can cause heart valve disease.
When the body tries to fight the strep infection, one or more heart valves may be damaged or scarred in the process. The aortic and mitral valves most often are affected.
Today, most people who have strep infections are treated with antibiotics before rheumatic fever occurs. If you have strep throat, take all of the antibiotics your doctor prescribes, even if you feel better before the medicine is gone. Heart valve disease caused by rheumatic fever mainly affects older adults who had strep infections before antibiotics were available. It also affects people from developing countries, where rheumatic fever is more common. Common germs that enter the bloodstream and get carried to the heart can sometimes infect the inner surface of the heart, including the heart valves.
This rare but serious infection is called infective endocarditis. The germs can enter the bloodstream through needles, syringes, or other medical devices and through breaks in the skin or gums.
Sometimes these defenses fail, which leads to infective endocarditis. Infective endocarditis can develop in people who already have abnormal blood flow through a heart valve as the result of congenital or acquired heart valve disease.
The abnormal blood flow causes blood clots to form on the surface of the valve. The blood clots make it easier for germs to attach to and infect the valve. Many other conditions and factors are linked to heart valve disease. Older age is a risk factor for heart valve disease. As you age, your heart valves thicken and become stiffer. Also, people are living longer now than in the past. As a result, heart valve disease has become an increasing problem.
People who have a history of infective endocarditis IE , rheumatic fever, heart attack , or heart failure —or previous heart valve disease—also are at higher risk for heart valve disease. In addition, having risk factors for IE, such as intravenous drug use, increases the risk of heart valve disease.
You're also at higher risk for heart valve disease if you have risk factors for coronary heart disease. These risk factors include high blood cholesterol , high blood pressure , smoking , insulin resistance, diabetes, overweight or obesity , lack of physical activity , and a family history of early heart disease.
Some people are born with an aortic valve that has two flaps instead of three. Sometimes an aortic valve may have three flaps, but two flaps are fused together and act as one flap. This is called a bicuspid or bicommissural aortic valve. People who have this congenital condition are more likely to develop aortic heart valve disease.
To prevent heart valve disease caused by rheumatic fever, see your doctor if you have signs of a strep infection. These signs include a painful sore throat, fever, and white spots on your tonsils. If you do have a strep infection, be sure to take all medicines prescribed to treat it. Prompt treatment of strep infections can prevent rheumatic fever, which damages the heart valves.
Researchers continue to study this possibility. Heart-healthy eating , physical activity , other heart-healthy lifestyle changes, and medicines aimed at preventing a heart attack , high blood pressure , or heart failure also may help prevent heart valve disease.
The main sign of heart valve disease is an unusual heartbeat sound called a heart murmur. Your doctor can hear a heart murmur with a stethoscope. However, many people have heart murmurs without having heart valve disease or any other heart problems. Others may have heart murmurs due to heart valve disease, but have no other signs or symptoms. Heart valve disease often worsens over time, so signs and symptoms may occur years after a heart murmur is first heard.
Many people who have heart valve disease don't have any symptoms until they're middle-aged or older. Other common signs and symptoms of heart valve disease relate to heart failure , which heart valve disease can cause.
These signs and symptoms include:. Heart valve disease can cause chest pain that may happen only when you exert yourself.
You also may notice a fluttering, racing, or irregular heartbeat. Some types of heart valve disease, such as aortic or mitral valve stenosis, can cause dizziness or fainting. Your primary care doctor may detect a heart murmur or other signs of heart valve disease. However, a cardiologist usually will diagnose the condition.
A cardiologist is a doctor who specializes in diagnosing and treating heart problems. To diagnose heart valve disease, your doctor will ask about your signs and symptoms. He or she also will do a physical exam and look at the results from tests and procedures. Your doctor will listen to your heart with a stethoscope. He or she will want to find out whether you have a heart murmur that's likely caused by a heart valve problem. Your doctor also will listen to your lungs as you breathe to check for fluid buildup.
He or she will check for swollen ankles and other signs that your body is retaining water. Echocardiography echo is the main test for diagnosing heart valve disease.
But an EKG electrocardiogram or chest x ray commonly is used to reveal certain signs of the condition. If these signs are present, echo usually is done to confirm the diagnosis. Your doctor also may recommend other tests and procedures if you're diagnosed with heart valve disease.
These tests and procedures help your doctor assess how severe your condition is so he or she can plan your treatment. This simple test detects and records the heart's electrical activity. An EKG can detect an irregular heartbeat and signs of a previous heart attack. It also can show whether your heart chambers are enlarged.
This test can show whether certain sections of your heart are enlarged, whether you have fluid in your lungs, or whether calcium deposits are present in your heart. A chest x ray helps your doctor learn which type of valve defect you have, how severe it is, and whether you have any other heart problems. Echo uses sound waves to create a moving picture of your heart as it beats. A device called a transducer is placed on the surface of your chest.
The transducer sends sound waves through your chest wall to your heart. Echoes from the sound waves are converted into pictures of your heart on a computer screen. During TEE, the transducer is attached to the end of a flexible tube. The tube is guided down your throat and into your esophagus the passage leading from your mouth to your stomach. From there, your doctor can get detailed pictures of your heart. For this procedure, a long, thin, flexible tube called a catheter is put into a blood vessel in your arm, groin upper thigh , or neck and threaded to your heart.
Your doctor uses x-ray images to guide the catheter. Through the catheter, your doctor does diagnostic tests and imaging that show whether backflow is occurring through a valve and how fully the valve opens. You'll be given medicine to help you relax, but you will be awake during the procedure. Your doctor may recommend cardiac catheterization if your signs and symptoms of heart valve disease aren't in line with your echo results.
The procedure also can help your doctor assess whether your symptoms are due to specific valve problems or coronary heart disease. All of this information helps your doctor decide the best way to treat you.
During stress testing, you exercise to make your heart work hard and beat fast while heart tests and imaging are done. Patients typically are discharged home after one night in the hospital. Features Events Calendar Browse by Topic. February 20, Poarch Our heart works hard, beating more than , times and pumping about 2, gallons of blood each day.
Take our online quiz to find out your risk factors and what you can do to improve your heart at missionhealth. To learn more about the Advanced Cardiac Care Clinic, call or visit missionhealth.
Related Posts Ready to run? How to start a couch to 5k plan. Clearing up the confusion between good and bad cholesterol. Easy spine-strengthening exercises to improve spinal health at home. Cybersecurity: Tips to keep your information secure. The flu shot season: 4 things you need to know. Your doctor will probably recommend regular check-ups and echocardiograms. You need to see your doctor if you start to get symptoms.
If your heart valve disease is causing symptoms, the main treatment is usually surgery. This may mean travelling to a hospital with a specialist team to have your treatment. Heart valves can be repaired or replaced during surgery. For some conditions, such as mitral regurgitation, valve repair is generally better, whereas for other conditions, such as aortic stenosis, valve replacement is usually better.
Valves can be repaired or replaced using different types of procedures. These are some of the main procedures you may be offered. Any type of heart surgery carries some risk. Ask your surgeon to explain the pros and cons of different procedures to you.
See our topic on Heart valve surgery for more information about what each one involves. But your doctor may prescribe them to help ease symptoms, treat any other heart problems and slow down any worsening of the condition. Heart valve disease can sometimes lead to other heart problems, such as heart failure and an irregular heartbeat. You may need medicines to manage these. You may have diuretics and ACE angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors to treat heart failure, nitrates to ease chest pain or beta-blockers to reduce the strain on your heart.
Always read the patient information leaflet that comes with your medicine. If you have any questions, ask your pharmacist or doctor for advice. As you get older, heart valves become thickened and stretched, which can lead to problems. This is more likely to happen if you smoke, or have high blood pressure , type 2 diabetes or high cholesterol.
There are also several different conditions associated with heart valve disease, including:. With the right treatment, many people with heart valve disease have few, if any complications. But for some people, complications can be very serious and sometimes life-threatening.
They include:. From just a few weeks into your pregnancy, your heart has to pump harder and faster. If you have valve disease, your heart might have trouble coping. In fact, some women are first diagnosed with valve disease when they become pregnant because they get symptoms for the first time.
You may also need specialist care when you give birth. Talk to your midwife and obstetrician for more information. Endocarditis is a serious infection of the lining of your heart and valves. If not treated, it can be life-threatening, causing heart failure, a heart attack or other serious heart problems. If you have a damaged heart valve or an artificial replacement valve, bacteria in your bloodstream can lodge there and grow.
Endocarditis can be difficult to diagnose because symptoms vary and can be quite vague. They are sometimes like those of flu. You should seek urgent medical advice if you have a heart valve condition and have:. The main treatment for endocarditis is antibiotics, usually through a drip into your bloodstream so you may need to go to hospital. Sometimes, you need surgery to help get rid of endocarditis.
Taking antibiotics to prevent endocarditis before a dental or other procedure is no longer routinely recommended. Being physically active is good for your heart as well as your overall health. It's important to stay physically active if you have any type of heart disease. They can tell you how much exercise is safe for you. They may want you to do tests to see how your body responds to exercise and whether it causes new symptoms.
This is called exercise stress testing. With any type of activity, you should stop immediately and contact your doctor if you have any chest pain, breathlessness or extreme tiredness. They do this with exercise stress testing every six months if you have severe aortic stenosis and yearly if you have mild or moderate aortic stenosis.
In fact, many people find out they have it during an examination for something else. If you do develop symptoms, it usually means the condition is getting worse. Symptoms include tiredness and shortness of breath.
Occasionally the valve can start to leak badly regurgitation and if this happens, you may need surgery. If you have severe heart valve disease with symptoms, you may not be allowed to fly. Your doctor will have to assess your condition and give you the OK. If they allow you to fly, they will arrange for help at the airport and on your flight. Our short survey takes just a few minutes to complete and helps us to keep improving our health information.
At Bupa we produce a wealth of free health information for you and your family. This is because we believe that trustworthy information is essential in helping you make better decisions about your health and wellbeing.
It also follows the principles of the The Information Standard. Simply enter your details into our calculator and the result will give you an indication of whether you're a healthy weight. A healthy balanced diet is essential for your physical and mental wellbeing. Take our healthy eating quiz to find out how much you know about nutrition.
0コメント