If you have been diagnosed with heart valve disease, your physician will place you on a treatment plan that may include one or more of the following:

  • Careful monitoring
  • Lifestyle changes
  • Medications
  • Valve replacement or repair

The selected treatment will depend on factors such as:

  • Your specific valve disease
  • How far the disease has progressed
  • Your overall health 
  • Age 
  • Lifestyle

For more than 30 years, mechanical heart valves have successfully provided patients with the ability to lead healthy, active, productive lives. Today, 20 to 30% of all patients diagnosed with heart valve disease receive a mechanical valve. Surgeons reliably select mechanical valves based on a number of inherent benefits including valve durability and exceptional hemodynamic performance.

Types of Treatment


Careful Monitoring

If you have a mild-to-moderate form of heart valve disease and no symptoms and otherwise healthy heart, your physician may suggest regularly scheduled checkups to monitor your condition. Checkups typically will include a physical exam and possibly the use of echocardiography, a device that uses ultrasound waves to:

  • Check for valve regurgitation or stenosis
  • Monitor the size of your heart
  • Check your heart’s ejection fraction (a measure of how well your heart is pumping)

Other testing may also be prescribed.

Lifestyle Changes

Your physician may recommend lifestyle changes designed to keep you and your heart as healthy as possible. Recommendations may include:

  • Stop smoking (if you smoke)
  • Follow a heart-healthy diet 
  • Engage in regular exercise 
  • Lose weight (if you need to)
  • Maintain good dental hygiene (to prevent bacterial infection)
  • Take common-sense health precautions (e.g., annual flu shots)

Medications

In some cases, medication can slow the progression of heart valve disease and/or help relieve symptoms.

Commonly Prescribed Medications for Treating Heart Valve Disease

  • Diuretics:  Reducing fluid levels from the body.
  • ACE inhibitors:  Treating high blood pressure and heart failure.
  • Anti-arrhythmia drugs:  Controlling irregular heart rhythms
  • Beta-blockers:  Treating high blood pressure and helping to control heart rate
  • Anticoagulants:  Preventing blood clots
  • Calcium channel blockers:  Lowering blood pressure and increasing circulation
  • Vasodilators:  Expanding blood vessels to improve circulation

Valve Replacement or Repair

If medications are not appropriate or if your valve disease progresses even while you’re taking medications, your physician may recommend heart valve replacement or repair. Both of these surgeries have been performed for many years and have shown high success rates in relieving symptoms and prolonging life.

Your doctor will assess whether or not you are a good candidate for surgery, including factors such as:

  • Your general health
  • Other medical conditions you may have
  • Your age

Valve Replacement

Heart valve replacement is usually necessary if there is widespread damage to the valve and surrounding tissue or if there is severe calcification to the valve annulus (the ring of tissue that supports valve leaflets).

Heart valve replacement involves removing the damaged valve and replacing it with a:

  • Mechanical valve, or
  • Tissue valve

Valve Repair

Commonly performed in patients with limited damage to mitral valve leaflets or chordae tendinae (cord-like tendons that support a valve), repair procedures usually involve separating fused valve leaflets or removing damaged tissue replacing chordae tendinae that may have broken and then reshaping the valve with an annuloplasty ring or band.

This information does not replace professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have questions regarding a medical condition, always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health professional.