Heart disease related to its valve’s dysfunction has been very common nowadays. I have seen two of my relatives having damaged heart valves. One of them had the defect from the very young age and had a successful surgery later. Another relative couldn’t make it because she had major complications later due to missing the medications for many days. In this post i will be discussing what are the factors responsible for the damage to the heart valves.
What are valves of the heart?
4 Chambered Human heart is designed in such a way, where the forward direction of a blood going from the upper chamber to the lower and from the lower chamber to the entire body and the lungs respectively, is maintained by a structure know as Valves of the heart. These valves have flaps which are leaflet like structures. There are many conditions and risk factors associated with causing damage to the heart valves.
Where are the valves of the heart located?
There are total 4 valves , two on each side of the heart.
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On the left side of the heart, there is a ‘Mitral valve’ present in between the upper chamber(left atrium) and the lower chamber(left ventricle). Another valve known as the ‘Aortic valve’ is present in between the lower chamber(left ventricle) and the aorta which is a largest artery in the body, which carries oxygen rich blood from the heart to the entire body.
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On the other hand ’Tricuspid valve’is present between upper chamber (right atrium) and lower chamber(right ventricle) of the right sided heart. ‘Pulmonary valve’ is present in between the lower chamber (right ventricle) and the pulmonary artery which takes impure blood (i.e blood having less oxygen) to the lungs.
What are the causes of heart valve damage?
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In some people it is ‘congenital’, means present since birth.
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Age related
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If strep throat is untreated then it may result in rheumatic fever which can cause damage to the heart valves
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Infection in the heart (known as infective endocarditis)
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Marfan syndrome ( a genetic disorder of connective tissues)
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Lupus ( it is an autoimmune condition where the body attacks its own healthy tissues and cells.)
Other conditions that may affect normal valve function:
- High blood pressure (hypertension)
- Diabetes
- Heart failure
- Heart attack
If you have any of these risk factors or a heart condition then it is better to talk with your physician regarding evaluation to prevent any further complications.
MBH/PS