Heart Valves

Let's look at how and why natural heart valves fail and how it affects the heart and circulatory system. The four valves (tricuspid, pulmonary, mitral, aortic) act as one-way doors between the chambers. These valves allow forward blood flow and prevent backflow of blood moving through the heart. Healthy valve leaflets are perfectly formed thin, pliable tissues that open and close as your heart contracts and relaxes.

Heart valves can be abnormally formed as birth defects. They can be damaged or scarred by rheumatic fever, infection, inherited conditions, aging, and heart attacks. The aortic and mitral valves are the ones most often affected. Regardless of the cause, the heart valve may become stenotic (narrowing of the valve opening) or incompetent (does not close completely). Valve stenosis requires the heart to work harder to pump the blood past the tight narrowing. The incompetent valve will allow blood to leak backwards through the valve once it has closed. Again, the heart must work harder to pump enough blood for body needs to make up for the conditions - stenosis and insufficiency - will cause the heart to work harder to pump the required amount of blood through the body.

This excess work can weaken the heart causing it to enlarge and produce various symptoms. Some of these symptoms are chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness, fainting, chronic tiredness, and swelling of the feet and legs.