Heart Valves

Question 1

Leaflets

Answer 1

Cover the openings between chambers and control blood flow

Question 2

annulus

Answer 2

anchors leaflets to heart

Question 3

Papillary muscles

Answer 3

attached to leaflets in AV valves, prevent backward swinging

Question 4

Regurgitation

Answer 4

improper closing of valves resulting in the backflow of blood

Question 5

stenosis

Answer 5

improper opening of valves, impeding blood flow

Question 6

Annuloplasty ring

Answer 6

a ring sutured over annulus to shrink the annular opening - treatment for regurgitation

Question 7

Transcatheter Valve Replacement

Answer 7

• method that can be used for patients whom open heart surgery could be risky
• Heart can be accessed through the circulation using minimally invasive tools
• Catheters containing surgical tools and therapeutic structures like artificial valves can be loaded into the vasculature at several points in the body

Question 8

Rheumatic Heart Disease

Answer 8

• affects heart valves
• triggered by streptococcal bacteria
• autoimmune response by the body that triggers T and B cells to attack heart tissue
• always the mitral valve, can sometimes affect aortic, tricuspid and pulmonary

Question 9

fetal aortic stenosis

Answer 9

• occurs to fetus during gestation
• stenosis that impairs the left ventricle
• can be rectified with needle and balloon insertion during gestation to reopen faulty valve