Heart Valve Diseases

The heart has four valves that keep blood flowing forward — the tricuspid, pulmonary, mitral and aortic valves. Heart valve disease is when one or more of these valves don't open or close properly.

What can go wrong

• Regurgitation (leak) — the valve doesn't close tightly; blood leaks backward.
• Stenosis (narrowing) — the valve doesn't open fully; blood can't flow through.
• Atresia — the valve is missing or malformed from birth.

What causes valve disease

• Rheumatic heart disease — after an untreated strep throat infection in childhood, the body's immune response can scar the heart valves years later. Still the biggest cause of valve disease in India.
• Age-related wear (most common in older adults in Western data — becoming more common in India as life expectancy rises).
• Congenital — present from birth.
• Infective endocarditis — infection of the heart valves.
• After a heart attack or from severe high blood pressure.

Symptoms

• Shortness of breath on exertion or lying flat.
• Swelling in ankles or belly.
• Palpitations.
• Tiredness or light-headedness.
• Chest pressure with activity.

Diagnosis and treatment

• A Health Expert may hear a murmur on examination. Echocardiography (ECHO) is the main test — it shows valve function clearly.
• Mild valve disease is often just monitored with regular ECHOs.
• Moderate-to-severe disease may need medicines to manage symptoms, and eventually valve repair or replacement.
• Valve replacement uses either a mechanical valve (lifelong blood thinners) or a tissue valve (no lifelong thinners, shorter lifespan). The choice depends on age and lifestyle.

India-specific prevention

A sore throat in a child that lasts more than a couple of days, with fever, deserves a Health Expert visit — a simple course of antibiotics for confirmed strep throat prevents rheumatic fever, which in turn prevents rheumatic heart disease decades later. This is one of the highest-impact prevention steps in Indian healthcare.