valvular heart disease

Think of the heart's four valves as one-way doors between its chambers and great vessels. When a door opens fully and closes tightly, blood moves forward in one direction and never backward. Valvular heart disease is the umbrella term for any condition in which one or more of these doors stops working properly — either it cannot open wide enough, or it cannot shut completely.

Two basic problems can occur, sometimes together. Stenosis means the valve has become narrowed or stiff, so the heart must work harder to push blood through a smaller opening. Regurgitation (also called incompetence or insufficiency) means the valve leaks, allowing blood to flow backward when it should be sealed shut. Either problem forces the affected chamber to handle extra pressure or extra volume, and over years the muscle can thicken, dilate, and eventually fail.

Causes range from age-related calcium build-up and congenital malformations to past rheumatic fever and infection of the valve. Many people have mild valve disease for decades without symptoms; trouble often appears only when the heart can no longer compensate, producing breathlessness, fatigue, chest discomfort, or fainting. Doctors grade severity mainly with echocardiography, and treatment runs from watchful monitoring to repair or replacement of the valve.

This entry is educational reference, not medical advice. Decisions about timing of surgery or intervention are individualized and balance symptoms, valve measurements, heart function, and overall risk.