Facts about a Heart Valve Surgery and CPR Training in Nashville, TN

There are four valves in our heart which makes sure that the blood flows through the heart in the correct direction. If one or more of your valves is diseased or damaged, your blood flow can get affected in two ways:

1.      Valve Stenosis or Narrowing- Valve stenosis is when your valve does not open fully which obstructs the flow of blood.

2.      Valve incompetence, or regurgitation, or a leaky valve- If the valve does not close properly, it will cause blood to leak backwards.

Individuals with heart valve disease need little or no treatment. However, to improve the symptoms and quality of life a doctor may advise to have surgery on your valve.

Treatment Options:

Talking about valve surgery, there are two options- valve repair and valve replacement. The former is often used for mitral valves that aren’t seriously damaged but become floppy and leak whereas valve replacement involves replacement of diseased valve with a new one with the most common types of replacement valves being mechanical (artificial) valves or tissue (animal) valves.

For adults who aren’t well enough to have traditional heart surgery, a Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) procedure may be used in some cases. Heart valve surgery and whether the operation is a repair, or a replacement depends on several factors including the cause of the problem, the valve that is affected and severity, number of valves that are affected, symptoms and the overall health of the individual.

Benefits and Risks:

The operation greatly improves the symptoms and quality of life for most people. But valve surgery isn’t risk free like all operations which will depend on an individual’s age, his/her current state of health and the degree of the valve disease. Do not worry as the surgeon discusses both the benefits and risks of the operation before the procedure. Endocarditis most commonly takes place in one of the heart valves. Endocarditis is a serious condition where the inner lining of the ticker becomes infected. Individuals with a heart valve problem or who have had surgery are at risk of developing endocarditis. The risk is also higher if you have had endocarditis before.

Valve Operations:

Your surgeon will make an incision down the middle of your breastbone to reach your ticker, use a heart-lung machine to circulate blood around the body during operation, open up the ticker to reach the affected valve and finally, perform the repair or replacement. This is how most valve operations go. This type of surgery isn’t suitable for everyone so do talk to your surgeon about the advantages and disadvantages of this type of surgery.

Recovery:

The day after the procedure, a patient is helped to sit out of bed. One tends to feel discomfort after the operation. Pain relief medications are given. Many people return home within about a week. It takes between 2-3 months to fully recover which again can vary greatly depending on individual condition.

Medication:

A patient who has undergone mechanical valve replacement is prescribed anticoagulant medicine, like Warfarin which one will have to take for the rest of their lives because of the fact that a mechanical valve is made of artificial material that increases the risk of blood clot developing on the surface of the valve. You may need to take anticoagulants for a shorter period if you have had a tissue valve replacement. Warfarin is the most commonly prescribed anticoagulant. Speak to your doctor before you take any medicines in addition to those you have been prescribed.

AHA certified CPR Nashville offers CPR courses to both healthcare and non-healthcare providers. Become certified at the end of the training classes after successfully passing a skills test and written exam. Either register online or call on (615) 638-0005 to sign up for a class.