Leaky Heart Valve

The heart is divided into two halves – the left part and the right part. Now, each part has two chambers that are called the atrium and the ventricle. Between these chambers are the valves of the heart, also called heart valves, and it is their responsibility to ensure that the flow of blood takes place in only one direction.

Heart valves can also be found between the ventricles and all the major arteries, that is, the aorta and also the pulmonary artery, and these too serve the same function.

Heart valve failure on either side of the heart could lead to various issues that not only involve the heart, but also some other parts of the body. For example, in case of the failure of the left side of the heart, fluids accumulate in the lungs. This condition is also medically termed as the pulmonary oedema. The left side of the heart consists of the aortic or the mitral valve.

Similarly, the right side failure of the heart is caused by the failure of the pulmonary and tricuspid valve. These are quite rare but can be easily triggered by severe forms of a congenital heart disease or also due to the long term failure of left side heart disease. This form of heart failure is characterized by the accumulation of fluids in various parts of the body, such as the legs, liver and abdominal cavity.

The malformation that takes place in the heart valves can be divided into two different categories. These are – narrowed valves and leaking valves. Alternatively, this malformation can also be due to a combination these two. Let us take a look at both of them briefly:

• Narrowed valves – These are also called stenosed valves. There are a number of reasons that can trigger these. Some of the common factors are congenital abnormality, damage from rheumatic fever, degeneration through atherosclerosis and also due to excessive amount of calcification in old age.
• Leaking valves – The leaking valves are medically termed as regurgitant valves, and they are mainly triggered due to bacterial infection, inflammation of the valve, enlargement of a blood vessel or the heart and also due to the excessive floppiness of mitral valve leaflets.

It is necessary to seek medical attention as soon as a malformation is detected. Though minor leakage in the valves is not a matter of grave concern, any sort of serious malformation that is left untreated could lead to possible heart failure.