Causes and Effects

Of
Aortic valve Disease

By

Hassan Mohammad Al-Shehri

ID#2051040006
Aortic valve regurgitation
Aortic valve regurgitation — or aortic regurgitation — is a condition that occurs
when your heart's aortic valve doesn't close tightly. Aortic valve regurgitation
allows blood that was just pumped out of your heart to leak back into it.

The leakage of blood may prevent your heart from efficiently pumping blood
out to the rest of your body. If your heart isn't working efficiently, you may feel
fatigued and short of breath.

Aortic valve regurgitation can develop suddenly or over decades. It has a

variety of causes, such as rheumatic fever. Once aortic valve regurgitation
becomes severe, surgery is usually required to repair or replace the aortic
valve.

Aortic valve regurgitation is also called aortic insufficiency or aortic

incompetence.

Signs and symptoms

Most often aortic valve regurgitation develops gradually, and your heart
compensates for the problem. You may have no signs or symptoms for many
years, and you may even be unaware that you have this condition.

However, as aortic valve regurgitation progresses, signs and symptoms

usually appear and may include:

• Fatigue and weakness, especially when you increase your activity level
• Shortness of breath, especially with exertion or when you lie flat
• Chest pain, discomfort or tightness, often increasing during exercise
• Fainting
• Rapid or irregular pulse
• Heart palpitations — sensations of a rapid, fluttering heartbeat
• Swollen ankles and feet

Causes

Any condition that damages a valve can cause regurgitation. Causes of aortic
valve regurgitation may be:

• A congenital heart defect. You may have been born with an aortic
valve that has one leaflet (unicuspid valve) or two leaflets (bicuspid
valve) rather than the normal three leaflets. This puts you at risk of
developing aortic valve regurgitation at some time in your life.
• Deterioration of the valve with age. The aortic valve opens and shuts
tens of thousands of times a day, every day of your life. Aortic valve
regurgitation may result from age-related wear and tear on the valve.
 • Endocarditis. The aortic valve may be damaged by endocarditis — an
infection inside your heart that involves heart valves.
• Rheumatic fever. Rheumatic fever — a complication of strep throat
and once a common childhood illness in the United States — can
damage the aortic valve, leading to aortic valve regurgitation later in
life. Rheumatic fever may damage more than one heart valve, and in
more than one way. A damaged heart valve may not open fully or close
completely — or both. Rheumatic fever is still prevalent in
underdeveloped countries, and many older adults in the United States
were exposed to rheumatic fever as children.
• Other causes. Other, rarer conditions that can damage the aortic valve
and lead to regurgitation include Marfan syndrome (a disease of
connective tissue), ankylosing spondylitis (a spine disorder) and
syphilis (a sexually transmitted disease). Damage to the aorta near the
site of the aortic valve, such as damage from trauma to your chest or
from a tear in the aorta, also can cause backward flow of blood through
the valve.

Complications

Aortic valve regurgitation puts you at risk of endocarditis. Endocarditis is an

infection of the heart's inner lining — the endocardium. This membrane lines
the four chambers and four valves of your heart. Typically, this infection
involves one of the heart valves, especially if it's already damaged. If the
aortic valve is leaky, it's more prone to infection than a healthy valve.

You can develop endocarditis when bacteria from another part of your body
spread through your bloodstream and lodge in your heart. If you have aortic
valve regurgitation, your doctor may recommend that you take antibiotics
before certain dental or medical procedures to decrease the likelihood that
bacteria will enter your bloodstream and cause an infection in your heart.

When it's mild, aortic valve regurgitation may never pose a serious threat to
your health. But when it's severe, aortic valve regurgitation may lead to
congestive heart failure.

Aortic valve stenosis

Aortic valve stenosis is a condition in which the heart's aortic valve narrows.
This narrowing prevents the valve from opening fully, which obstructs blood
flow from the heart into the aorta and onward to the rest of the body. Aortic
valve stenosis usually results in an abnormal heart sound.

When the aortic valve is obstructed, the heart needs to work harder to pump
blood to the body. Eventually heart muscle becomes. In addition, the heart
can pump only a limited amount of blood — and can't provide the increase in
blood flow you need for activities such as exercise.
Several factors, including aging, can damage the aortic valve and lead to
aortic valve stenosis. Some babies are even born with a defective aortic
valve.

If you have severe aortic valve stenosis, you'll usually need surgery to replace
the valve.

Signs and symptoms

Aortic valve stenosis ranges from mild to severe. Signs and symptoms
typically develop when narrowing of the valve is severe and can include:

• Chest pain (angina) or tightness

• Feeling faint or fainting with exertion
• Dizziness
• Fatigue, especially during times of increased activity
• Shortness of breath, especially with exertion
• Heart palpitations — sensations of a rapid, fluttering heartbeat
• Heart murmur

Causes

Aortic valve stenosis is narrowing of the aortic valve. Many factors can narrow
this passageway between your heart and aorta. Causes of aortic valve
stenosis include:

• Congenital heart defect. Rarely, some babies are born with an

already narrowed aortic valve. Others are born with an aortic valve that
has only two flaps (leaflets) — not three. Known as a bicuspid aortic
valve, this deformity may not cause any problems until adulthood, at
which time the valve may begin to narrow or leak and may need to be
repaired or replaced.
• Aortic valve calcification. With age, heart valves may accumulate
deposits of calcium .
• Rheumatic fever. Rheumatic fever may result in scar tissue forming on
the aortic valve. Scar tissue alone can narrow the aortic valve and lead
to aortic valve stenosis. Scar tissue can also create a rough surface on
which calcium deposits can collect, contributing to aortic valve stenosis
later in life. Rheumatic fever may damage more than one heart valve,
and in more than one way

Complications

Aortic valve stenosis puts you at risk of endocarditis.

aortic valve stenosis can lead to congestive heart failure. Severe aortic valve
stenosis ultimately can be life-threatening. The condition can lead to irregular
heart rhythms (arrhythmias) and cardiac arrest.