Heart valves are thin membranes located within the chambers of the heart. They have leaflets or cusps which allow blood to flow in only one direction through the heart.
There are four main valves in the heart:
a) The two atrioventricular valves (AV valves) are called mitral and tricuspid valves. They are located between the upper (atria) and lower (ventricles) chambers of the heart. They prevent backflow of blood from the ventricles to the atria during their contraction. The mitral valve (bicuspid valve) has two cusps or leaflets. Usually, the tricuspid valve has three cusps. Sometimes there may be two or four cusps. Upturn or prolapse of the AV valves during ventricular contraction is prevented by small muscles within the heart (papillary muscles) that attach to these cusps via the cord-like tendons (chordae tendineae).
b) The two semilunar valves are called aortic and pulmonary valves. They are located in the arteries leaving the heart. They open during ventricular contraction allowing blood to exit but prevent backflow of blood from the arteries.
Conditions affecting the heart valves:
Regurgitation – full closure of valve prevented causing backflow of blood as seen in mitral, tricuspid, aortic or pulmonary regurgitation. It could be due to certain conditions like valve prolapse, congenital heart defects, ischemic heart disease, cardiomyopathy, etc.
Stenosis – narrowing of valve due to thickening. It could be mitral, tricuspid, aortic or pulmonary valve stenosis. Rheumatic fever, endocarditis, coronary artery disease, hypertension, heart attack, etc. can cause valve stenosis.
Diseases of the heart valve are diagnosed by echocardiography, MRI, cardiac catheterization, radionuclide scan, etc. Treatment is aimed at lessening symptoms and protecting the valve from further damage with medications. Defective valves are repaired or replaced with surgery.
Do all heart valve replacements need open-heart surgery? Let's know the new techniques that could change everything.
As technology develops, TAVI is set to play an even more significant role in treating heart valve disease.
By combining these approaches, healthcare providers and individuals with heart valve disease can work together to promote optimal heart health and minimize the impact of this potentially severe infection.
For a while now, researchers have been trying to make 'growing' heart valves a reality. It has worked in animals, but has not been accomplished in human beings. This makes this infant's case a breakthrough one.
The patient had been seeing her doctor regularly to bring her hypertension and diabetes under control. A month ago, she experienced difficulty in breathing.
Transcathter mitral valve repair, also known as Mitraclip, is a boon for patients who are considered inoperable.
A simple 2D echo can detect valve problems. Watch out for the signs and symptoms of heart valve disease and report to your doctor on a priority basis.
With modern technology, repair or replacement of heart valves is done with a minimally invasive approach. Read on to know available treatment options for heart valve disease.
This first 'Made in India' 3-D printed heart valve is designed and developed by a Chennai-based heart surgeon.
This breakthrough technology for aortic valve surgery was a bliss for 33-year-old welder who was suffering from chronic aortic valve disorder.
A new research found that patients who undergo a transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) suffer an increased risk of death and heart failure.
The procedure allows the surgeon to put a valve inside the valve without open heart surgery.
Wondering which to choose for your dear ones, read this!
The First Valve in Valve TranscatheterAortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) done in Western India to treat patient for failed tissue valve
A 52-year-old woman suffering from a severely damaged heart valve was successfully treated with a replacement surgery and implanted with a cow's pericardial valve at a Mumbai hospital.
Fortis Escorts Heart Institute was yet again presented a challenge with 62 year-old Mutwakil Muhamed Ahmed Abunayeb suffering from medical conditions leading to deterioration in the functioning of his heart.
Suffering from life-threatening congenital heart diseases, these surgeries were like a 'dream-come-true' for four children and next of their kin.
A cow's heart saved this 81-year-old woman's life
Artificial heart valve device that does not require major surgery approved by FDA
Know your heart health terms - part 1
Echocardiogram
Girl's organs harvested for donation
Do all heart valve replacements need open-heart surgery? Let's know the new techniques that could change everything.
As technology develops, TAVI is set to play an even more significant role in treating heart valve disease.
By combining these approaches, healthcare providers and individuals with heart valve disease can work together to promote optimal heart health and minimize the impact of this potentially severe infection.
For a while now, researchers have been trying to make 'growing' heart valves a reality. It has worked in animals, but has not been accomplished in human beings. This makes this infant's case a breakthrough one.
The patient had been seeing her doctor regularly to bring her hypertension and diabetes under control. A month ago, she experienced difficulty in breathing.
Transcathter mitral valve repair, also known as Mitraclip, is a boon for patients who are considered inoperable.
A simple 2D echo can detect valve problems. Watch out for the signs and symptoms of heart valve disease and report to your doctor on a priority basis.
With modern technology, repair or replacement of heart valves is done with a minimally invasive approach. Read on to know available treatment options for heart valve disease.
This first 'Made in India' 3-D printed heart valve is designed and developed by a Chennai-based heart surgeon.
This breakthrough technology for aortic valve surgery was a bliss for 33-year-old welder who was suffering from chronic aortic valve disorder.
A new research found that patients who undergo a transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) suffer an increased risk of death and heart failure.
The procedure allows the surgeon to put a valve inside the valve without open heart surgery.
Wondering which to choose for your dear ones, read this!
The First Valve in Valve TranscatheterAortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) done in Western India to treat patient for failed tissue valve
A 52-year-old woman suffering from a severely damaged heart valve was successfully treated with a replacement surgery and implanted with a cow's pericardial valve at a Mumbai hospital.
Fortis Escorts Heart Institute was yet again presented a challenge with 62 year-old Mutwakil Muhamed Ahmed Abunayeb suffering from medical conditions leading to deterioration in the functioning of his heart.
Suffering from life-threatening congenital heart diseases, these surgeries were like a 'dream-come-true' for four children and next of their kin.
A cow's heart saved this 81-year-old woman's life
Artificial heart valve device that does not require major surgery approved by FDA
Know your heart health terms - part 1
Echocardiogram
Girl's organs harvested for donation
