Faulty Valves

Question 1

What is the function of heart valves?

Answer 1

Heart valves prevent the blood in the heart from flowing in the wrong direction

Question 2

What are the symptoms of faulty heart valves?

Answer 2

. Being short of breath
. Swelling in ankles and feet
. Feeling unusually tired

Question 3

What are the causes of faulty heart valves?

Answer 3

. Being born with it (congenital heart disease)
. Having had rheumatic fever
. Cardiomyopathy - a disease of the heart muscle
. Damage to the heart muscle from a heart attack
. Getting older
. Endocarditis - a bacterial infection in the heart

Question 4

What can faulty heart valves be replaced by?

Answer 4

Faulty heart valves can be replaced by biological or mechanical valves

Question 5

What are conditions that may require a heart transplant?

Answer 5

. Atherosclerosis (coronary heart disease) - a buildup of fatty substances in the arteries supplying the heart
. Cardiomyopathy - where the walls of the heart have become stretched, thickened or stiff
. Congenital heart disease - birth defects that affect the normal working of the heart