Valvular Heart Disease Symptoms

The heart is a marvelous muscle, pumping blood through our bodies constantly and without conscious effort. Day after day, it carries out its work, and many people seldom give it a thought.

Valvular heart disease symptoms can make you think about it, though. According to statistics, U.S. physicians diagnose about 5 million people with valvular heart disease each year.

Define Valvular Heart Disease

Valvular heart disease is a medical condition in which the valves of the heart fail to function properly.

Your heart has four valves, one at the exit of each of the heart’s four chambers. The function of these valves is to ensure that blood is always flowing forward out of the heart. Like a guard at the entrance to a one-way street, the valves keep blood from going the wrong way and leaking back into the heart. In brief, and quite simply, the valves work this way.

1. Blood arriving at the heart through your veins flows first into the heart’s two chambers known as the right and left atria.
2. The valves in those two chambers, known as the mitral and tricuspid valves open.
3. Blood next flows from the atria into your heart’s other two chambers, the ventricles. This blood flow goes through the open mitral and tricuspid valves.
4. When your ventricles have filled with blood, the mitral and tricuspid valves automatically close. Now blood can no longer enter the ventricles, and no blood can flow backward into the atria.
5. Immediately, your ventricles begin to contract to push the blood out of those chambers into your arteries.
6. The two valves in those chambers, the pulmonic and aortic valves are forced open.
7. Blood rushes out through the open valves, flowing into the pulmonary artery. It is sent directly to the lungs, the aorta, and the rest of your body.
8. As the ventricles complete their work and begin to relax, the aortic and pulmonic valves automatically close. No blood can flow backward into the ventricles from your pulmonary artery.
9. This “traffic pattern” is repeated with every heart beat, constantly supplying your body with fresh blood.

Valvular Heart Disease Symptoms

Once you understand the proper working of the heart’s valves, you will be able to understand valvular heart disease symptoms better.

* The first valvular heart disease symptom you may notice is a shortness of breath. You may also have difficulty catching your breath. There are two times when this will be especially noticeable: when you are going about your normal daily activities or when you lie down flat in bed, not on your side.
* Chest discomfort is a second valvular heart disease symptom. Some people describe the feeling as a pressure or weight in the chest. This is usually felt when you are active in normal activities. It may also be experienced when you go outside into cold, winter air, or when you enter an air conditioned building in summer.
* A felling of weakness or dizziness may also be a heart disease symptom.
* A common valvular heart disease symptom is heart palpitations. Palpitations have various feelings. You may think your heart has a sudden rapid rhythm. You may develop an irregular heartbeat, or sense that your heart is skipping a beat off and on. Sometimes, this heart disease symptom is called a flip-flop feeling in the chest.

It is possible for valvular heart disease to cause heart failure as well, in which case heart disease symptoms may include swelling in your feet, ankles, or abdomen. Your belly may swell, too, making you feel bloated. A startling heart disease symptom may be the quick weight gain – as much as 2 or 3 pounds in one day.

CAUTION: If you exhibit any of the heart disease symptoms above, please see your physician immediately. The author is not a trained professional, and provides this information for educational purposes only.