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.
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