Heart valves are one of the components of the human heart. Their correct work ensures not only the functioning of the cardiovascular system, but also the whole organism as a whole. For this reason, it is very important to know how many heart valves a person has, how they work, and how to recognize signs of valve disease.
Human Heart
The human heart is a hollow muscle. It is formed by four chambers: the right and left atrium, the right and left ventricles. Valves connect the atria to the ventricles. The heart beats rhythmically, and blood flows in portions from the atria to the ventricles. The semilunar valves connect the ventricles to the vessels, through which blood is pushed out of the heart into the aorta and pulmonary artery.
Thus, blood with a high content of carbon dioxide passes through the right chambers and enters the lungs to be enriched with oxygen. And from the lungs, blood is sent back to the bloodstream through the left side of the heart. Ensuring a constant pumping of blood through the vessels -the main function of the heart.
Heart valves
The valve apparatus is necessary in the process of pumping blood. Heart valves ensure that blood flows in the right direction and in the right amount. Valves are the folds of the inner lining of the heart muscle. These are a kind of “doors” that let blood flow in one direction and prevent it from moving back. The valves open at the moment of rhythmic contraction of the heart muscle. In total, there are four valves in the human heart: two valvular and two semilunar:
- Bivalve mitral valve.
- Tricuspid valve.
- Pulmonary semilunar valve. Its other name is pulmonary.
- Aortic semilunar valve or aortic valve.
Heart valves open and close according to the successive contraction of the atria and ventricles. The blood flow of blood vessels depends on their synchronous work, therefore, oxygen saturation of all cells of the human body.
Valve functions
Blood, flowing through the vessels in the heart, accumulates in the right atrium. Its further progress is delayed by the tricuspid valve. When it opens, blood enters the right ventricle, from where it is expelled through the pulmonic valve.
Further, the blood flow enters the lungs for oxygenation, and from there it is sent to the left atrium through the aortic valve. The mitral valve connects the leftchambers and restricts blood flow between them, allowing blood to accumulate. After blood enters the left ventricle and accumulates in the right amount, the blood is pushed into the aorta through the aortic valve. From the aorta, renewed blood continues its movement through the vessels, enriching the body with oxygen.
Pathologies of the heart valves
The job of valves is to regulate the flow of blood through the human heart. If the rhythm of opening and closing of the valve apparatus is disturbed, the heart valves close or do not open completely, this can cause many serious diseases. It was noted that the mitral and aortic valves are most often affected by pathologies.
Heart defects are most common in people over the age of sixty. In addition, heart valve disease can become a complication of certain infectious diseases. Children are also prone to valvular diseases. As a rule, these are congenital defects.
The most common diseases are heart failure and stenosis. In case of insufficiency, the valve does not close tightly, and part of the blood returns back. Valve stenosis is called narrowing of the valve, that is, the valve does not open completely. With this pathology, the heart experiences constant overload, as it takes more effort to push the blood.
Valve prolapse
Heart valve prolapse – is the most common diagnosis that a doctor establishes when a patient complains of malfunctioning of the cardiovascularsystems. The mitral valve of the heart is most often affected by this pathology. Prolapse occurs due to a defect in the connective tissue that forms the valve. As a result of such defects, the valve does not close completely and blood flows in the opposite direction.
Separate primary and secondary valve prolapse. Primary prolapse refers to congenital diseases when connective tissue defects are a genetic predisposition. Secondary prolapse occurs due to chest trauma, rheumatism or myocardial infarction.
As a rule, valve prolapse does not have serious consequences for human he alth and is easily treated. But in some cases, complications may occur, such as arrhythmia (violation of the rhythm of contractions of the heart muscle), insufficiency and others. In such cases, medical or surgical treatment is required.
Valve insufficiency and stenosis
The main cause of insufficiency and stenosis is rheumatic endocarditis. Beta-hemolytic streptococcus - the cause of the inflammatory process in rheumatism, reaching the heart, changes its morphological structure. As a result of these changes, the heart valves begin to work differently. The walls of the valves may become shorter, causing failure, or narrowing of the valve opening (stenosis).
Due to rheumatism, mitral valve insufficiency occurs most often in adults. Stenosis due to rheumatism affects the aortic or mitral heart valve in children.
There issuch a concept as "relative insufficiency". Such a pathology occurs if the structure of the valve remains unchanged, but its function is disturbed, that is, the blood has a reverse outflow. This is due to a violation of the ability of the heart to contract, expansion of the cavity of the heart chamber, and so on. Heart failure is also formed as a complication of myocardial infarction, cardiosclerosis, tumors of the heart muscle.
The lack of qualified treatment of insufficiency and stenosis can lead to insufficient blood flow, dystrophy of internal organs, arterial hypertension.
Symptoms of valve disease
Symptoms of heart disease directly depends on the severity and extent of the disease. As the pathology develops, the load on the heart muscle increases. As long as the heart copes with this load, the disease will be asymptomatic. The first signs of illness can be:
- shortness of breath;
- heart rate failure;
- frequent bronchitis;
- chest pain.
Heart failure is often indicated by shortness of breath and dizziness. The patient experiences weakness and fatigue. Congenital mitral valve prolapse is manifested in children by episodic pain in the sternum during stress or overexertion. Acquired prolapse is accompanied by palpitations, dizziness, shortness of breath, weakness.
These symptoms may also indicate vegetative-vascular dystonia, aortic aneurysm, arterial hypertension and other heart pathologies. In this regard, it is importantmaking an accurate diagnosis, which will reveal that it is the heart valve that causes malfunctions. Treatment of the disease depends entirely on the correct diagnosis.
Disease Diagnosis
When the first signs of heart valve disease appear, you should consult a doctor as soon as possible. The appointment is carried out by a general practitioner, the final diagnosis and treatment are made by a narrow specialist - a cardiologist. The therapist listens to the work of the heart to identify noises, study the medical history. Further examination is carried out by a cardiologist.
Diagnosis of heart defects is carried out using instrumental research methods. An echocardiogram is the main test for valvular disease. It allows you to measure the size of the heart and its departments, to identify violations in the valves. An electrocardiogram records the heart rate, revealing arrhythmia, ischemia, and cardiac hypertrophy. An X-ray of the heart shows a change in the contour of the heart muscle and its size. In diagnosing valve defects, catheterization is important. A catheter is inserted into a vein and advanced through it into the heart, where it measures blood pressure.
Possibility of treatment
Medicated method of treatment includes the appointment of drugs aimed at relieving symptoms and improving the functioning of the heart. Surgery is aimed at changing the shape of the valve or replacing it. Correction surgery is generally better tolerated by patients than replacement surgery. In addition, after replacing the heart valve, the patient is prescribedlifelong anticoagulants.
However, if the valve defect cannot be repaired, it becomes necessary to replace it. A mechanical or biological heart valve is used as a prosthesis. The price of the prosthesis largely depends on the country of manufacture. Russian prostheses are much cheaper than foreign ones.
Several factors influence the choice of artificial valve type. This is the age of the patient, the presence of other diseases of the cardiovascular system, and which valve should be replaced.
Mechanical implants last longer, but require lifelong coagulation. This causes difficulties in installing them for young women who plan to have children in the future, since taking such drugs is a contraindication during pregnancy. In the case of tricuspid valve replacement, a biological implant is placed, due to the location of the valve in the bloodstream. In other cases, if there are no other contraindications, the installation of a mechanical valve is recommended.
