February is heart health awareness month. This year, U of U Health Care is focusing on the diagnosis and treatment of heart valve disease, commonly known as heart murmurs. Dr. Anwar Tandar and Dr. Amit Patel came on Good Things Utah to talk about the important issue.
What is heart valve disease?
· Heart valve disease occurs if one or more of your heart valves don't work well.
· The heart has four valves: the tricuspid (tri-CUSS-pid), pulmonary (PULL-mun-ary), mitral (MI-trul), and aortic (ay-OR-tik) valves.
· These valves have tissue flaps that open and close with each heartbeat. The flaps make sure blood flows in the right direction through your heart's four chambers and to the rest of your body.
· Birth defects, age-related changes, infections, or other conditions can cause one or more of your heart valves to not open fully or to let blood leak back into the heart chambers. This can make your heart work harder and affect its ability to pump blood.
Signs and Symptoms
· The main sign of heart valve disease is an unusual heartbeat sound called a . Your doctor can hear a heart murmur with a stethoscope.
· Many people have heart murmurs without having heart valve disease or any other heart problems. Others may have heart murmurs due to heart valve disease, but have no other signs or symptoms.
Common signs and symptoms of heart valve disease relate to which heart valve disease can cause. These signs and symptoms include:
· Unusual fatigue (tiredness)
· Shortness of breath, especially when you exert yourself or when you're lying down
· Swelling in your ankles, feet, legs, abdomen, and veins in the neck
Who is at risk for heart valve problems?
· Older people
· People with a history of rheumatic fever, heart attack, heart failure, or other heart-related issues
· People with risk factors for heart disease such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, being overweight or obese, being inactive, and those with a family history of early heart disease
How Is Heart Valve Disease Treated?
Currently, no medicines can cure heart valve disease. However, lifestyle changes and medicines often can successfully treat symptoms and delay problems for many years. Eventually, though, you may need surgery to repair or replace a faulty heart valve.
The goals of treating heart valve disease might include:
· Preventing, treating, or relieving the symptoms of other related heart conditions.
· Protecting heart valves from further damage.
· Repairing or replacing faulty valves when they cause severe symptoms or become life threatening. Replacement valves can be man-made or biological.
What is the U of U Valve Clinic?
The U of U Heart Valve Clinic will feature experts in cardiology, cardiac imaging, and surgical therapy among other specialists. Together, they will collaborate for the most thorough evaluation of each patient and use the latest in technology. All specialists are under one roof which means patients don't have to endure multiple visits to different specialists.
To contact the U of U Health Care, you can call (801) 585-7676 or go to:
http://www.healthcare.utah.edu
