Overview

There exist four valves in your heart which function as doors enabling the blood to circulate inside the heart and through the body. When the valves are affected by infection or other heart conditions, valves become thick or stiff or fused together. This disrupts the blood flow by not opening and closing the valves properly and causes heart dysfunction(heart failure, blood clots, heart rhythm abnormality, stroke, and death). Heart valve disease could also present at birth.

Symptoms

• Heart murmur diagnosed by doctor
• Difficulty in breathing
• Fatigue
• Swelling of body
• Dizziness
• Fainting
• Irregular heart beat

Treatments

1. Balloon Valvuloplasty

Minimally invasive procedure that widens narrowed valves by using catheter equipped balloon on the tip. This procedure is ideal for patients (elder people, infants) at greater risk of complications

1) Process of procedure

• From the insertion of catheter, the catheter's moving path is being watched via X-ray throughout the procedure.
• Insert a long tube catheter through an artery in the groin or wrist until it reaches the narrowed heart valve
• Guide the catheter to the narrowed location and inflate the balloon equipped at the tip of catheter to widen the valve and then deflate it.
• The blood flow is now enhanced.

2) Expected duration of hospital stay

• Generally the procedure itself takes several hours.
• If there were not a complication occurred, the patient is expected to be hospitalized to monitor the heart for a day or two days.

3) Post-operative care

• The patient will be monitored thoroughly in the hospital to ensure that he or she is free of complications (bleeding, infection, fainting, and heart dysfunction)
• When the patient returns home, doctor will prescribe blood-thinning medications and provide instructions for the care.

4) Ideal outcomes

• Breathing is easier
• Enhanced blood circulation through the body
• Improved exercise capacity

5) Risks

• Recurrence of narrowing
• Formation of blood clots
• Bleeding This may occur from the area where it was catheterized.
• Heart attack, artery damage, kidney problems, stroke, abnormal heart rhythms may occur during the procedure.
• Stroke & Death

6) Treatment cost

• Expected cost ranges from to.

2. Heart Valve Replacement

If patient's heart valve is unable to be repaired, doctor may suggest this open heart surgery that replaces diseased valve with an artificial valve, or a valve made by animal tissue (pig and cow) or a valve from human.

1) Process of procedure

• During the surgery, patient's heart will be either on heart-lung bypass device taking over the role of the heart throughout the surgery or on equipment that restrains the heart to minimize its movements during the surgery. Some hospitals perform surgery using robotics to maintain the surgery minimally invasive.
• -Begin general anesthesia (patient's breathing will depend on ventilating machine)
• -Give an incision to the chest
• -Remove diseased valves from the heart
• -Connect an artificial valve, or a valve made by animal tissue (pig and cow) or a valve from human to the heart so that the heart valve now work properly and whole body is sufficiently nourished via circulating blood.

2) Expected duration of hospital stay

• A week to two weeks of hospital stay is expected in total.
• Generally the procedure itself takes up to 3 - 5 hours.
• A day or two days of Intensive care unit stay is required.

3) Post-operative care

• While patient is cared in Intensive care unit, he or she will still be on ventilator until the patient is able to breathe on their own.
• The patient will be monitored thoroughly in the hospital to ensure that he or she is free of complications (bleeding, fever, infection, fainting, abnormal discharge from the chest and chest pain)

4) Ideal outcomes

• Patient returns to daily routine within six to 12 weeks as is general.
• Breathing is eased
• Chest pain is gone
• Exercising capacity is enhanced

5) Risks

• 2~10 mortality
• Bleeding after surgery
• Infection that may require another surgery
• Stroke, heart failure, renal failure and pneumonia might occur post surgery
• May require another replacement surgery due to deterioration of valve's function 10 years after surgery.

6) Treatment cost

• Expected cost ranges from to.