Valvular Heart Disease a Life-Threatening Condition

Before we understand the nature of the valvular heart disease, it is essential to understand the working of the valves inside the body of an individual. The human heart has four valves, namely aortic, mitral, tricuspid and pulmonary valves. The heart valves are known as leaflets or cusps and are shaped as the flaps of tissue. The function of the valves is to regulate the forward and backward flow of the blood. The valves open to allow the forward movement of the fluid and close to prevent the backward flow of the blood. There are mainly two categories of valvular heart disease that can occur in an individual; Stenosis, when the opening of the valve is too narrow to allow a smooth forward flow of the blood and Regurgitation, when the improper closure of the valve results in the backflow of blood.

A valvular heart disease may be caused due to various reasons, congenital or after birth. A valvular heart disease is categorized as congenital when the abnormality occurs during the fetal development due to some factor. In most cases, the factor remains unknown. In such cases, the infants are mostly born with Stenosis of the pulmonary or the aortic valve. The abnormality may occur due to the high risk of valve abnormalities in the parents or siblings of such infants or due to an environmental hazard or a health problem that the mother was afflicted with during her pregnancy. A valvular heart disease is categorized as acquired if it is caused after birth. The affected valve was structurally normal during birth, therefore the condition is termed as 'acquired'. This condition may occur due to a number of reasons such as rheumatic fever, Endocarditis that causes infection of the heart valves, high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis, syphilis and connective tissue disorders. A valvular heart disease occurs due to abnormality in any of the valves. For instance the abnormal condition in the aortic valve is either congenital or acquired and is known as congenital aortic stenosis or acquired aortic stenosis, respectively. Another abnormality of the aortic valve, known as aortic regurgitation, results in the backward flow of the blood. Similarly there may be abnormality in any of the valves, resulting in a valvular heart disease.

A Valvular hear disease can seldom be treated through medication and the abnormal valve usually needs repair or replacement through surgical procedures known as Percutaneous balloon valvoplasty, Valvotomy using traditional surgery and valve replacement. Individuals who are successfully treated of a valvular heart disease through a surgical procedure usually live for quite a few years after the surgery.