Valvular Heart Disease

Valvular Heart Disease services offered in Homestead, FL

Valvular heart disease disrupts blood flow through the heart, causing problems like murmurs — additional or unusual heartbeats. If you detect a murmur, visit Cardiovascular Wellness Center in Homestead, Florida, for a thorough evaluation. Its experienced cardiologists have state-of-the-art diagnostics on site to help them pinpoint the cause of symptoms like heart murmurs. Call Cardiovascular Wellness Center to schedule a valvular heart disease evaluation or request one online today.

What is valvular heart disease?

Valvular heart disease develops if one of the heart’s four valves doesn’t work as it should. Valves separate the chambers in your heart, opening and closing with your heartbeat to allow blood to circulate around your body. Forms of valvular heart disease include:

Leaky valves

Leaky valves are unable to close fully, allowing blood to trickle through.

Stenosis

With stenosis, valves are too stiff and won’t open properly, reducing blood flow through the heart. Aortic stenosis is among the most common valvular heart disease.

Atresia

A heart with atresia has a valve that doesn’t form properly, creating a solid block of tissue that prevents blood flow.

What symptoms can valvular heart disease cause?

Common valvular heart disease symptoms include:

Heart murmur (abnormal heart sound)
Fatigue
Dizziness
Chest pain
Shortness of breath
Leg, ankle, or abdominal swelling

Babies are sometimes born with valvular heart disease, but it can also develop in later life. This could be because of an underlying health problem like atherosclerosis (narrowed arteries) or hypertension (high blood pressure) or might result from an infection.

How is valvular heart disease diagnosed?

To diagnose valvular heart disease, your Cardiovascular Wellness Center provider discusses your symptoms and reviews your medical and family history. They also complete a physical exam and listen to your heart with a stethoscope. Depending on what these investigations show, your provider can order various procedures to assess your heart function, such as:

Electrocardiography (EKG)
Echocardiography (heart ultrasound)
Holter or event monitoring
Stress test
Nuclear stress test
Cardiac MRI or CT scan
Cardiac PET scan

These diagnostic procedures provide information about your heart’s inner structures and how a valve defect affects you. Your provider can then create a personalized treatment plan to combat these effects.

What treatment does valvular heart disease require?

Often, patients only require routine checkups to ensure their valve disorder isn’t worsening or causing new problems. Your Cardiovascular Wellness Center provider might prescribe certain medications to prevent arrhythmias and blood clots, lower blood pressure and high cholesterol, and treat heart failure or coronary artery disease.

If your risk of life-threatening events like heart attacks is high, your provider might suggest a minimally invasive heart valve procedure like transcatheter aortic valve replacement or repair.

If you develop a heart murmur or other valvular heart disease symptoms, call Cardiovascular Wellness Center to schedule an evaluation or request one online today.