Lub Dub Lub Dub . This is a sound of a normal heart . A heart with a valve disease would have murmurs in it . The heart valve disease occurs in the heart’s valves as the name says . The heart has 4 chambers , namely Right/Left Auricle and Ventricle . The chambers are assisted by valves . When deoxygenated blood flows into the right atrium from the superior and inferior vena cavas , it goes to the right ventricle through the tricuspid valve . Then it goes to the lungs to be oxygenated through the pulmonary valves and then returns to the left atrium and goes to the left ventricle . Then it exits from the Aorta through the bicuspid valve to reach the muscles of the body to provide oxygen . And then it loops back into the cycle . This is a normal blood flow .

normal blood flow

But what happens when there is a problem in your heart’s valves ? Would you die or suffocate ? There are 3 common types of heart valve disease . They are Regurgitation , Stenosis and Atresia .

In Regurgitation when the blood is going to the Aorta through the aortic valve to supply oxygenated blood the aortic valves do not close and the blood leaks into the Left Ventricle . In this you will feel out of breath and tired since the oxygen is not able to reach to the muscles easily . However this is not limited to the aortic valve and can occur in other valves too .

( Regurgitation

Moving on to Stenosis , the valves deform and they become narrow . When the valves are closed nor they close fully neither they open fully . When this happens the heart needs to do extra work to pump the same amount of blood required . And when it works harder every time the muscles weaken and wear out . If this is not treated then there is a high risk of a heart failure . There is abnormal heart sound in this disease and sometimes there are chest pains .

Pulmonary-atresia-with-VSD

Lastly in Atresia the heart valves aren’t even formed . This usually encountered in newborns . In this disease people easily are out of breath like regurgitation as it is similar to it . This can be treated with frequent surgeries and is better if treated in childhood . Since the blood is not transported properly , sometimes skin turns blue due to deoxygenated blood . Sometimes an artificial part is also inserted which assists in helping to pump blood normally .

Artesia

All of these are detected by the symptoms (which are mentioned earlier) . And then later confirmed by using various methods like Electro and Echocardiogram , MRIs and X-rays . We can see that technology plays a huge role in medicine and cardiovascular disease .

All of these affect the body since the heart is the vital part of the body mainly by improper blood and oxygen flow . And all of them weaken the heart and make you out of breath and tired . Sometimes artesia can also cause liver or kidney problems . And all of them can give blood clots inside the body , strokes and other scary cardiovascular problems . At severe levels you can even die . Since they occur as heart developmental failures they are better treated on a newborn . The best thing about them is that they can be cured with frequent surgeries and do not require a heart transplant like some heart disease do .

For children these surgeries cost 1.5 to 2.5 lacs . And gets expensive for adults . Whereas a heart transplant can start from 10s of lacs and can even go up to crores . Other than the cost of the transplant there is a chance that the heart would not be accepted or the waiting for the organ “donation” would be too long . We also never know that it could be from a kidnapped child or a legit organ donor . And anyway paying for organs is a crime internationally .

If you feel tired or get out of breath too easily . Or have blue skin or face chest pain (not cholesterol pain) than you may need to see a doctor . And do not worry since we have advanced technology and skilled surgeons . Also have folic acid supplements and quit drinking and smoking to avoid heart diseases even in general . And stay away from chemicals especially gaseous .

*Here are the sources I used for the research ( in MLA7 ) :

Crestanello, Juan. “Tricuspid Atresia – Symptoms And Causes.” Mayo Clinic. N.p., 2018. Web. 4 Apr. 2019.

Bagameri, Gabor. “Heart Valve Disease – Symptoms And Causes.” Mayo Clinic. N.p., 2018. Web. 4 Apr. 2019.

Greason, Kevin. “Aortic Valve Stenosis – Symptoms And Causes.” Mayo Clinic. N.p., 2018. Web. 4 Apr. 2019.

Crestanello, Juan. “Heart Valve Disease – Diagnosis And Treatment – Mayo Clinic.” Mayoclinic.org. N.p., 2019. Web. 4 Apr. 2019.

“Normal Heart Blood Flow – Dayton Children’S Hospital.” Dayton Children’s Hospital. N.p., 2013. Web. 4 Apr. 2019.

“Pulmonary Atresia.” Children’s Heart Federation. N.p., 2013. Web. 4 Apr. 2019.

Wolfson, DRS. “Aortic Valve Natural Remedies – The Drs. Wolfson.” The Drs. Wolfson. N.p., 2015. Web. 4 Apr. 2019.