ქართული
РусскийHeart valve defects
Valvular heart disease, like congenital heart defects, is a congenital or acquired condition characterized by changes in the anatomical structure or function of the heart’s valve apparatus – valve leaflets, fibrous ring, chords, or smooth muscles.
Anatomically, the heart consists of 4 valves: aortic, mitral, tricuspid, and pulmonary valves. All valves have leaflets that open and close with each cardiac cycle. Inadequate opening or closing of the valves leads to disruption of normal blood circulation.
There are several types of heart valve defects: valve stenosis – a condition in which the heart valve cannot fully close, and blood has to pass through a narrower opening than usual. As a result, the heart has to work harder to pump enough blood through the narrow opening. Valve insufficiency is a condition where the valve leaflets cannot fully close the opening between the heart chambers. As a result, backflow or regurgitation of blood occurs during the phase of the heart’s cycle when the valve should be closed. This damage leads to overloading of the heart cavity, resulting in backflow, with less blood entering the body due to backflow. It is also possible to have both stenosis and insufficiency of the same valve.
Valvular pathology can be congenital or acquired. Congenital heart defects form before birth, during pregnancy. These pathologies are quite common and occur in 1% of newborns. Congenital heart defects are not always diagnosed at birth. More often, they appear during life.
The main cause of heart defect symptoms is oxygen deficiency. This manifests as cyanosis of the skin, lips, fingertips (cyanosis), frequent or difficult breathing, tachycardia, and edema. Acquired valve diseases are caused by changes in leaflet structure, which in turn are caused by various diseases. These include rheumatism, endocarditis, valve damage due to calcium deposits in elderly people, degenerative valve changes, ischemic heart disease, myocardial infarction, cardiomyopathy, syphilis, hypertension, aortic aneurysm, connective tissue diseases. Damage can also be caused by trauma, tumors, medication, or radiation.
The main symptoms of heart valve damage are shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, which often manifest as weakness and dizziness with physical exertion; Discomfort in the chest area, which is more pronounced during physical exertion, palpitations, rhythm disturbances, episodes of loss of consciousness, lower limb edema. Heart disease often progresses asymptomatically until a certain stage. Some do not complain, even if valve damage is severe and requires immediate treatment. Some people experience irritating symptoms even with relatively mild damage.
Methods of diagnosing heart valve damage include echocardiography (transthoracic and transesophageal), computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and cardiac catheterization. The tactics of treating heart defects depend on the severity and nature of the valve damage.
In some cases, medical treatment is recommended, as well as periodic monitoring of the valve’s condition. In cases of severe damage, surgical intervention is recommended.
During valve surgery, damaged valves are either repaired (plastic surgery) or replaced (prosthetics). These procedures are performed both on an open heart and with minimally invasive methods.
When choosing the type of intervention, the patient’s age, overall health, degree of valve damage, and severity of the disease should be taken into account.