{"id":6980,"date":"2019-10-22T20:26:17","date_gmt":"2019-10-22T20:26:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/?p=6980"},"modified":"2020-10-01T13:39:29","modified_gmt":"2020-10-01T13:39:29","slug":"heart-valve-disease","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/heart-valve-disease\/","title":{"rendered":"Heart Valve Disease"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/heart-495235521.jpg\" alt=\"Heart Valve Disease\" class=\"wp-image-6981\" width=\"270\" height=\"278\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Our hearts have four valves:&nbsp;\nthe aortic, mitral, pulmonary and tricuspid valves.&nbsp; They work together to keep blood flowing in\nthe correct direction; through the heart\u2019s chambers and to the rest of the body.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Heart valve disease occurs when one or more of our heart\nvalves do not work properly, disrupting the flow of blood throughout our\nbodies. &nbsp;This disease can be congenital\n(developing before birth) or acquired (developing after birth). Heart valve\ndisease can lead to serious complications such as stroke, heart failure, blood\nclots, heart rhythms abnormalities or death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The three main problems encountered in heart valve disease\nare:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Stenosis- which occurs when the flaps of a heart valve do not fully open due to the thickening of valve tissue. This makes the heart work harder to pump blood which can lead to heart failure. Stenosis can develop as a result of a buildup of calcium or other deposits on the valves.&nbsp; <\/li><li>Regurgitation \u2013 this happens when the valve doesn\u2019t close all the way. If our valves do not close correctly this will cause blood to leak backward into the heart and less blood to flow to our bodies.<\/li><li>Atresia- this is present at birth and occurs as a result of the valve not being developed. Instead of a valve, a piece of tissue forms that restricts the flow of blood.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Stenosis and regurgitation can be caused by pre-existing\nheart conditions, age-related changes, rheumatic fever or infections. There are\nno known causes for atresia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some people with heart valve disease may not experience symptoms\nduring the early stages of the disease. When symptoms present they can include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>A heart murmur or an unusual heartbeat <\/li><li>Heart palpitations<\/li><li>Fatigue<\/li><li>Dizziness<\/li><li>Shortness of breath <\/li><li>Fainting <\/li><li>Swollen ankles, feet or belly<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Several factors can increase the risk of heart valve\ndisease. Risk factors include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Older age ( As you age your heart valves become stiffer and thicker)<\/li><li>A history&nbsp; of infective endocarditis<\/li><li>Rheumatic fever resulting from an untreated strep infection<\/li><li>Heart conditions present at birth<\/li><li>Atherosclerosis (buildup of plaque inside the arteries), &nbsp;heart attack, advanced heart failure or other conditions that can cause harm to the heart valves<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are experiencing symptoms of heart valve disease, you\nshould inform your doctor.&nbsp;&nbsp; A physical\nexamination will be conducted during which your doctor will listen for a heart\nmurmur. &nbsp;Your doctor may order a series\nof diagnostic tests such as an echocardiography, chest X-ray, cardiac MRI or electrocardiogram\nto evaluate your heart\u2019s health.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Treatment for heart valve disease may include surgery or medications.\nYour doctor will most likely recommend that you make heart-healthy lifestyle\nchanges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To schedule an appointment with a &nbsp;cardiologist at Jamaica Hospital Medical\nCenter, please call 718-206-7100.<\/p>\n<p class=\"disclaimer\">All content of this newsletter is intended for general information purposes only and is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.  Please consult a medical professional before adopting any of the suggestions on this page.   You must never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical treatment based upon any content of this newsletter.<strong>  PROMPTLY CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN OR CALL 911 IF YOU BELIEVE YOU HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY.<\/strong> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our hearts have four valves:&nbsp; the aortic, mitral, pulmonary and tricuspid valves.&nbsp; They work together to keep blood flowing in the correct direction; through the heart\u2019s chambers and to the rest of the body.&nbsp; Heart valve disease occurs when one &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/heart-valve-disease\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,1817],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6980","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cardiology","category-medical-library"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6980","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6980"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6980\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7758,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6980\/revisions\/7758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}