Valvular Heart Disease Symptoms

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Valvular Heart Disease Symptoms
Valvular Heart Disease Symptoms

Video: Valvular Heart Disease Symptoms

Video: Valvular Heart Disease Symptoms
Video: Aortic valve disease - causes, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, pathology 2024, March
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Heart valve disease: causes & symptoms

With a heart valve defect, the function of one or more heart valves is disturbed. This permanently changes the blood flow. Symptoms often appear late because the heart can usually compensate for the disturbances for a long time. Various causes can be responsible for the development of a heart valve defect.

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What are the causes of valve errors?

  • Heredity: Some rare forms of congenital heart valve defects must be treated in infancy. Other forms only lead to a pronounced disease in adulthood;
  • acute rheumatic fever;
  • Infections: e.g. bacterial heart valve inflammation (mostly caused by staphylococci);
  • Diseases of the heart such as a heart attack;
  • Injuries in the chest area;
  • Age-related signs of wear and limescale deposits.

Different types of functional disorders can occur in the heart valves:

  • Narrowing (stenosis): The valve does not open far enough to allow sufficient blood to pass through.
  • Leakage (valve weakness, valve insufficiency): The valve does not close completely and tightly. As a result, blood flows back or is sometimes also pumped in the opposite direction.
  • Combined heart valve defect: the valve is narrowed and leaking at the same time.
  • Tumors on the heart valves (very rare).

Aortic valve stenosis is most common in old age and, regardless of age, the leakage of the mitral valve (mitral valve insufficiency).

What are the symptoms?

Heart valve defects often cause no noticeable problems for a long time. Symptoms usually only arise when the heart has changed significantly and is weakened. They may differ depending on the type of malfunction. Typical indications are declining performance, cardiac arrhythmias, shortness of breath, shortness of breath, dizziness, brief fainting spells (syncope) and chest pain (especially during physical exertion). Blood clots can form in distended heart cavities, which are carried along with the blood and which can trigger a stroke.

Heart valve stenosis

The narrowed heart valve can no longer open properly. The blood accumulates in front of the constriction and expands the heart cavity in front of it. Over time, this leads to permanent enlargement of the affected atrium or ventricle.

  • Aortic valve stenosis: The valve between the left ventricle and the aorta is narrowed, often as a result of calcification. Therefore, this change occurs mainly in older people. The heart does not pump enough blood around the body. The heart muscle thickens as a result of the heavy load and thus compensates for the aortic valve stenosis for many years. If the flow rate is reduced to about a quarter of the normal blood volume, the following symptoms can occur: tightness or pain in the chest (angina pectoris), shortness of breath during physical exertion, rapid fatigue, dizziness or sudden loss of consciousness (especially during exertion), embolism (dragged lime lumps)).
  • Mitral valve stenosis: The valve between the left atrium and the left ventricle is narrowed, usually as a result of a long-ago infection with streptococci or a rheumatic fever. There is a reduced pumping capacity of the heart and the backflow of blood into the lungs. This initially leads to shortness of breath during physical exertion and lying flat, as well as coughing at night. Sufferers often have reddened cheeks and bluish lips. The left atrium is overstretched. This leads to cardiac arrhythmias such as extra heart beats, spasmodic or completely irregular heartbeat, later often to permanent atrial fibrillation.

Heart valve insufficiency

The valve no longer closes properly and blood flows back. The heart cavity in front of the valvular defect is stretched by the large volume of blood. The heart first tries to compensate for the additional load. If this is no longer possible, heart failure occurs. This often manifests itself in shortness of breath during exertion, rapid fatigue and reduced performance as well as tightness or pain in the chest (angina pectoris).

  • Mitral valve regurgitation: The heart valve between the left atrium and the left ventricle is leaking. Possible causes are infections, tears in the area of the holding apparatus (the tendon threads) of the valve, a heart attack or pronounced mitral valve prolapse (the valve sags and no longer closes properly).
  • Aortic valve insufficiency: The heart valve between the left ventricle and the aorta is leaking. This is usually the result of a long-ago rheumatic fever or an infection with streptococci. However, the infection can lead to life-threatening damage to the valve within days to weeks (usually in the case of an infection with staphylococci). In these cases, immediate surgery may be necessary.

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