Heart Valve Problems

When one or more heart valves do not work properly, it leads to heart valve disease. When hearing through a stethoscope, there is a murmur or a whooshing sound which indicates the blood flow from one chamber to another.

These murmurs can indicate valve problems like:

1. Stenosis: Narrowing or stiffening of the valve which prevents the supply of blood.

2. Regurgitating: Backward flow of blood into the chambers.

3. Prolapse: Improper closing leaflet of a valve.

4. Atresia: Improperly formed or missing valve.

Causes of valve problem:

Congenital defects:

a. Aortic valve stenosis

b. Ebstein’s anomaly

c. Pulmonary valve stenosis

d. Bicuspid aortic valve

Age-related valve disease:

a. Degenerative valve disease: The mitral valve slowly degenerates. Eg. Mitral valve prolapse leads to mitral valve regurgitation and requires treatments and affects only 2-3% of the population.

b. Calcification due to aging: Aortic stenosis affects the aortic valve when calcium accumulates on the heart’s valves.

c. Mediastinal radiation therapy (Radiation to chest): Childhood cancer survivors who have undergone radiation therapy have an increased risk of valve diseases in later stages.

Related illness:

a. Infective endocarditis

b. Injury

c. Rheumatic fever