Valve Disease Flashcards
what patients are more susceptible to valve disease?
- elderly
- Down’s syndrome
what are some causes of valve disease?
- congenital abnormality
- myocardial infarction
- rheumatic fever
- dilation of the aortic root
what is the most common congenital abnormality?
bicuspid aortic valve
how can a myocardial infarction lead to valve disease?
MI causes papillary muscle rupture
what is rheumatic fever?
immunological reaction to streptococci
how can rheumatic fever lead to valve disease?
- rheumatic fever leads to rheumatic heart disease
- leads to vegetation’s on heart valve which can become infected
what are the left heart valves?
- aortic
- mitral
what are the right heart valve?
- pulmonary
- tricuspid
what side of the heart is most likely to suffer from valve disease?
left side valves most commonly fail
what is narrowing of the valve opening more commonly known as?
valve stenosis
how can valve disease be investigated?
- ultrasound scan
- doppler ultrasound scan
what are the two types of valve replacements?
mechanical and biological
do mechanical or biological valve replacements last longer?
mechanical
if a patient comes into your practise and they have valve disease, what medications will they probably be on?
anticoagulants
what complication are patients with valve replacements at very high risk of developing?
infective endocarditis
