Heart valve disease is a disorder that occurs in the covering tissue that regulates blood flow to and from the heart chambers or what is commonly called the heart valves. Patients with this disease have heart valve conditions that do not function normally where there is a malfunction of one or more heart valves. There are several types of heart valve disease with different symptoms and treatment options. Heart valve disease may occur due to infection with endocarditis and rheumatic fever, degeneration, or due to abnormal heredity.
What are the Causes of Heart Valve Disease?
Infective Endocarditis – Most people with healthy, normal hearts are not at significant risk for developing this heart valve infection. Those with rheumatic fever, with scarring, or hereditary heart disease, may get this disease.
Oral surgery or surgery involving a woman's mouth, bladder, prostate, or pelvic organs increases the risk of this infection. The disease is also possible in drug addicts who inject drugs into their veins using unsterile needles, even if they have normal heart valves.
What Are the Symptoms of Heart Valve Disease?
Patients who have the disease may experience fever, weakness, night sweats, chills, and joint inflammation. In patients where the disease progresses slowly, symptoms may include fast heart rate, enlarged spleen, various skin rashes or spots, and heart murmurs. Rheumatic fever – This is caused by an allergic response to a certain type of streptococcal bacteria. When this occurs, it is probably more common in children who have untreated streptococcal infections. Chronic rheumatic heart disease can result from just one or several attacks of rheumatic fever.
Symptoms of rheumatic fever include fever, joint pain, and either a lump under the skin or a rash on the skin. Other heart valve diseases – With aging, calcium deposits cause thickening, and leakage of heart valves. Heart attacks can also damage the structure of the mitral valve, and certain connective tissue disorders, such as Marfan syndrome and myxomatus degeneration, can also adversely affect the heart valves.
How to Diagnose Heart Valve Disease?
Certain types of heart valve disease are diagnosed using an electrocardiogram, echocardiogram , certain x-ray studies, and/or cardiac catheterization.
- Infective Endocarditis
Diagnosis can be obtained through history, physical examination, lab tests, EKG, and echocardiogram. - Rheumatic fever
Rheumatic fever was suspected following a recent throat infection. Symptoms include joint pain, abnormal electrocardiogram or heart inflammation as indicated by blood tests. Heart murmurs are detected from routine checks.
How is Heart Valve Disease Treated?
Treatment of specific heart valve disease varies, depending on the valves involved and the extent of the damage or malfunction. Some patients do not require specific treatment and many can be treated with medication. Sometimes, patients require surgery. If multiple valve disease is suspected, the different valves are evaluated during surgery on one of the affected valves. Women with valvular heart disease who wish to become pregnant should have thorough check-ups and see a cardiologist regularly throughout their pregnancy.
- Infective Endocarditis
Depending on the type of bacterium causing the disease, the appropriate antibiotic or combination of antibiotics is used to treat infective endocarditis. Severe cases are corrected by valve replacement surgery. - Rheumatic fever
Patients with rheumatic fever are treated with antibiotics to get rid of the streptococcal organisms still living in the heart. The patient receives antibiotics to prevent further infection, and inflammation is treated with aspirin or cortisone-like drugs.
Heart valve disease is more at risk for someone who is over 40 years old. Because as a person gets older, the heart valves will become thicker and stiffer. To prevent this disease, you can do various physical activities, eat healthy food, and adopt a healthy lifestyle.
This article was written by dr. Alfa Ferry, M.D. FRCS, Sp. BTKV (Coronary Heart Bypass Specialist and also a member of the Cardiology & Thoracic Surgery/CABG Specialist team at EMC Pulomas Hospital).