What is Valvular Heart Disease?

The human heart consists of four chambers. The upper two chambers are called as left and right atrium and the lower two chambers are called right and left ventricles.

There are four valves present at the exit of each chamber and they maintain the blood flow through the heart to lungs and to the rest of the body. The four valves are named as

• Tricuspid valve is present between right and left atrium and opens to pump blood in the right ventricle.
• Pulmonary valve controls the flow of blood between the right ventricle and lungs
• Mitral valve is present between the left atrium and left ventricle and opens up to pump the oxygenated blood from the left atrium to the left ventricle.
• The aortic valve is responsible for the flow of blood from the left ventricle to the main artery of the body which is called the aorta.

Heart valve disease also called Valvular Heart Disease occurs when one or more heart valves malfunction and don’t open or close properly. Heart valve disease can be mild, moderate or severe depending upon the symptoms. This leads to the enlargement of heart or heart failure. Heart failure occurs when the heart is unable to pump enough blood to meet the body’s oxygen requirement.

Treatment

Heart valve disease can be treated in various ways, either by medication or by surgery to repair or replace the affected valve.