Your heart is a muscular pump that has four chambers and four valves. The four valves are the mitral, aortic, tricuspid, and pulmonary valves. The valves open and close to keep blood flowing in the proper direction through your heart. When something is wrong with one of the valves, the blood cannot flow in and out of the heart properly. Problems with the heart valves can cause leaks (valve regurgitation) and blockages (valve stenosis). You can be born with heart valve disease, or it can develop over a number of years.
Mild cases of heart valve disease may not cause problems, but more serious cases will weaken the heart and can lead to heart failure. Treatment with medicine can help relieve symptoms, but it will not fix the valve. You may choose to have the valve replaced or repaired.
Heart valve disease occurs when a heart valve is damaged or narrowed and does not control or allow the normal flow of blood through and out of the heart. Causes of heart valve disease include congenital heart disease, an abnormal valve, or a rupture of a valve.
Heart valves operate like one-way gates, helping blood flow in one direction between heart chambers as well as into and out of the heart. A normal heart valve has flaps, called leaflets. When the heart pumps, the leaflets open one way to allow blood to flow through. Between heartbeats, the leaflets should close to form a tight seal so that blood does not leak backwards through the valve.
If the heart valve is damaged, the leaflets may not form a tight seal, and blood may leak backwards through the valve. This leakage is called regurgitation.
Heart valves can also become narrowed, which may block the flow of blood through the heart. This narrowing is called stenosis.
Heart valve disease can affect any of the four valves. A valve may not be able to open well enough (stenosis) or close well enough (regurgitation). Heart valve diseases include:
Heart valve disease is the term used for problems that affect any of the heart’s four valves. A heart valve may not open well enough to let blood flow through (stenosis), may not close well enough to prevent backflow of the blood (regurgitation), or may not do either well.
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