Heart Valve Disease - Symptoms and Possible Causes

by Saul Peterson

The heart is one of the strongest muscles in the human body. It is divided into two halves, called the atrium and the ventricle chambers and between these two chambers are a set of valves that insure that the blood flows in only one direction. Occasionally however, these valves become damaged and as a result the person could suffer from some sort of heart valve disease. If left untreated this disease could lead to heart failure and even death.

Signs and Symptoms

It is truly difficult to determine if a set of symptoms are a sign of heart valve disease, since many of them are so mild and can be attributed to a number of different conditions including asthma, heartburn, heart attack, or sometimes even pregnancy. The best thing to do is to have a running conversation with your medical professional concerning your thoughts and physical symptoms. Based on that complete picture, he or she should be able to diagnose your situation professionally. Heart valve disease is a serious condition, and should never be self-diagnosed although there are a few common symptoms of heart valve disease that if you notice on a regular basis you should watch out for. If you experience dizzy spells or faintness brought on by physical activity, shortness of breath, or chest pain while doing physical activity it is certainly something to bring up to your doctor as soon as possible.

Possible Causes of Heart Valve Disease

Often heart valve disease is caused by a malformation of the valves that separate the two chambers of the heart. These deformities can include narrowed valves, and leaking valves.

Narrowed valves that can lead to valve heart disease can be caused by a number of things, some unpreventable, others that can be prevented. One cause of this condition is congenital abnormality, a condition that is often seen since birth. Another cause, one that can be prevented through diet exercise and perhaps medications is degeneration of the valve through atherosclerosis, or hardening of the blood vessels. In addition heart valve disease can also be caused by damage from rheumatic fever or extensive calcification that sometimes occurs in old age.

Leaking valves that can lead to heart valve disease can be caused by a number of additional factors. These include such things as a bacterial infection, or other inflammation of the valve, excessive floppiness of the valve leaflets, or even enlargement of the heart or the aorta. Any or all of these things can be the cause for leaking valves, and therefore heart valve disease.

Although heart valve disease is not, in every case a matter of life and death, it can sometimes lead to major complications within the heart, which is something that nobody would ever want. The best course of action, as always in any medical situation, is to talk to your doctor and be honest with him or her. Together you should be able to recognize a potential case of heart valve disease and make the necessary lifestyle changes.

Complete Information on Fallot Tetralogy

by Alicia Stock

Tetralogy of fallot is a congenital heart defect. This heart defect is mostly find in children. Congenital heart defects change the normal flow of blood through the heart. This rare and complex heart defect occurs in about 5 out every 10,000 babies. It affects boys and girls equally. Tetralogy of Fallot occurs due to improper development of the heart in the first eight weeks of fetal growth. Some congenital heart defects may have a genetic link. One genetic link that has been associated with tetralogy of fallot is a deletion, or tiny missing piece, of chromosone 22q11. The condition is known as the 22q11 deletion, and blood tests are available to detect it.

Environmental exposures, such as maternal abuse of alcohol during pregnancy leading to fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), are Connected to Tetralogy of Fallot. Mothers who take medications to control seizures and mothers with phenylketonuria (PKU) also are more likely to have a baby with Tetralogy of fallot. Tetralogy of fallot results in low oxygenation of blood due to mixing of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood in the left ventricle through the VSD and preferential flow of both oxygenated and deoxygenated blood from the ventricles through the aorta because of obstruction to flow through the pulmonary valve.

Corrective surgery is usually performed at about six months. The goal of surgery is to repair the defects so the heart can work as normally as possible. Almost 70 per cent of babies with Fallot's tetralogy will need complex heart surgery Heart surgery and anaesthetic techniques have changed dramatically in recent years. The first surgery may be done to help increase blood flow to the lungs, and a surgery to correct the problem is done at a later time. Corrective surgery is done to widen part of the narrowed pulmonary tract and close the ventricular septal defect.