Heart valve disease (valvulopathies): what is it?

By Cristiano Antonino Last updated Jan 17, 2024

With “valvulopathies” we mean a condition in which the heart valves (aortic valve, mitral valve, pulmonary valve and tricuspid valve) present structural anomalies following which a concrete alteration of their function can occur, giving rise – precisely – to valvulopathies cardiac: diseases of the valves of the heart

Valvulopathies are generally characterized by stenosis – narrowing that makes the passage of blood fluid difficult and choked – and by insufficiency – blood flow that “reflows” back due to failure of the valve to close -.

Depending on the valve involved and the defect it presents, the following may occur, both individually and in conjunction with each other:

Mitral stenosis
Aortic stenosis
Tricuspid stenosis
Pulmonary stenosis
Mitral insufficiency
Aortic insufficiency
Tricuspid insufficiency
Pulmonary insufficiency
Mitral valve prolapse syndrome

Valvulopathies: the causes and risk factors

The causes of valvulopathies can be classified as follows:

Congenital causes

If the causes of valvular disease are congenital, it means that the malformation of the heart valves is present in the patient from birth, due to alterations in the embryonic development of the cardiac structures.

Acquired causes

If the causes of the valvulopathy are acquired, it means that the alterations to the heart valves have appeared in the course of life, consequently to degeneration of the valvular tissue, frequent especially in elderly patients; calcification of parts of the valve; inflammations; infections; ischemia during acute myocardial infarction; trauma, although rarely; diseases of the heart muscle and/or great vessels.

Some risk factors that increase the incidence of acquired valve disease are smoking, diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia.

Valvulopathy: the symptoms

The symptoms with which valve disease manifests essentially depend on the course of the disease itself: the disease can remain silent for a long time and then manifest itself acutely suddenly, or appear gradually with the progressive worsening of the patient’s clinical picture.

The symptoms with which valvulopathy tends to manifest are:

difficulty breathing following an effort or, in the most serious cases, even at rest or during the night
fatigue
dizziness
fainting
abnormal heart rhythm, palpitations, arrhythmias
chest pain caused by insufficient blood flow in the coronary arteries

Heart valve disease: diagnosis and treatment

From the moment you feel – even if only slightly – some of the symptoms described above, you are strongly advised to consult a specialist for an in-depth diagnosis.

The specialist in question is the cardiologist who, after a careful and meticulous reconstruction of the patient’s clinical history, will prepare for what is the real cardiological examination through cardiac auscultation.

This is useful, in the first analysis, to identify any pathological murmurs, determined by the passage of blood through the valves that are defective in closing or opening.

An echocardiography — ultrasound of the heart — may then be performed, which may or may not confirm the diagnosis.

Depending on the diagnosis made by the cardiologist, the choice of the most correct therapy to follow will be made.

Pharmacological therapy – with the administration of ACE inhibitors, diuretics, antiarrhythmic drugs, anticoagulants, vasodilators – is useful for slowing down the progression of the disease, controlling and stabilizing the symptoms and reducing the risk of further damage to the heart valves.

Surgical therapy – dilatation of the stenotic valve, valve repair, valve replacement – is only offered in the most severe cases of valvular disease.

Valvulopathies: risk factors and prevention

As far as congenital valve diseases are concerned, it is obviously not possible to implement a prevention plan, since they are present in the patient from birth.

On the other hand, acquired valvulopathies can be the consequence of rheumatic disease resulting from a neglected pharyngitis caused by group B beta-haemolytic streptococcus during childhood or adolescence, which over time leads to the establishment of a process on the internal surface of the heart.

Appropriate antibiotic therapy can counteract this unpleasant side effect of the disease.

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