About 2.5% of Americans have heart valve disease, most of whom are older adults. It refers to several conditions that prevent one or more of the valves in the heart from working right. When left untreated, heart valve disease may cause more serious problems down the road due to the heart having to work harder.
One of the most common heart valve diseases, called aortic valve stenosis, is when tissues that form the valve become stiffer and narrow over time. This condition reduces the blood that can flow through it, making your heart pump harder. This causes the rest of your body to not get enough blood flow.
“Common symptoms of aortic valve stenosis can include a heart murmur, or unusual heartbeat, dizziness, swelling of the legs, fatigue, and most commonly, shortness of breath,” said Dr. Majid Mughal, an interventional cardiologist at McLaren Greater Lansing Cardiovascular Associates. “Patients can often mistake these symptoms as normal aging signs, or they may not have any symptoms at all, so it’s important to schedule their routine physical exams and to talk to their doctor about any concerns or symptoms they are experiencing.”
Your doctor can do a test to look at your heart, called an echocardiogram, that can diagnose any heart valve problems. The echocardiogram is a fast and painless test that can show blood flow through the heart and heart valves by using sound waves to create a picture.
“From there, we can see the severity of the patient’s aortic stenosis and recommend certain treatment options,” said Dr. Mughal.
Aortic valve stenosis is often caused by calcium buildup on the valve. As calcium deposits build in the blood, the blood flows over the aortic valve, making it narrow over time. People who had certain heart conditions present at birth such as congenital heart defects, or rheumatic fever, are also at a higher risk of developing heart valve disease.
While surgical intervention is needed to fix the narrowed valve, those living with severe aortic valve stenosis may be eligible for a less invasive technique called transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) that benefits patients without a long recovery time and hospital stay.
“Unlike conventional procedures that involve opening the chest, the TAVR procedure is done through a small incision, typically near the groin area, and we use a catheter to replace the heart valve,” said Dr. Mughal. “The procedure only takes a few hours, and a majority of patients can go home the next day.”
While TAVR is long-lasting, Dr. Mughal said depending on the person’s age and anatomy, and the durability of the valve, the heart team will do several tests and discuss with the patient the different risks and benefits of TAVR versus traditional surgical intervention treatments.
“We’re seeing the longevity of these valves lasting close to 10 to 12 years now before needing to be replaced, so it’s a very good option for our older patients, ” said Dr. Mughal. “For those who are younger and more active, their heart valves work harder, so a traditional surgical method may be more suited for them.”
Once a person has heart valve disease, there are no reversal methods. The important thing is knowing the signs and symptoms, and continuing with routine exams and tests as directed by their cardiologist or primary care physician.
To learn more about the TAVR procedure and the Structural Heart Disease and Valve Clinic at McLaren Greater Lansing, click here.
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