Transcript for:
Understanding Heart Valve Functions and Issues

[Music] [Music] there are 4,000 inside the heart there are two valves on the right side of the heart two valves on the left side of the heart two two vows on the right side of the heart called the tricuspid valve and the pulmonic valves are not usually involved in adult heart disease sometimes there are diseases that some of the babies have related to the valves on the right side of the heart but generally adults do not have promise too much with the tricuspid or pulmonic valves now all the valves in the heart act as one-way valves they open to allow blood to go in the forward direction and they close so blood doesn't come back where it came from so I used an analogy it's a little bit like the Panama Canal and the locks in the canal the locks open to allow the water to go forward the boat goes for it and then the lock closes behind it so the boat doesn't go backward and that's one lock at a time well the valves act fairly similarly within the heart the two valves on the left side of the heart the mitral valve and the aortic valves are actually not infrequently involved with heart diseases of adults typically the mitral valve opens to allow blood to exit from the upper chamber to the lower chamber and then it closes so the heart now when it gets ready to pump the blood all the blood will go forward instead of going backwards however in cases where the heart has enlarged now sometimes the valve leaflets no longer touch to valve the heart itself stretches out and that causes the valve to actually no longer touch and it doesn't close completely now when the main pumping chamber squeezes some of the blood can go backwards in mild cases we can treat this medically in more severe cases we have to replace the valve the aortic valve which is the last of the valves opens to allow blood to exit the heart and it closes so that blood doesn't come back into the heart the most common disease of the a1 valve actually involves gradually narrowing of this valve however there are some cases where the aorta the main blood vessel after the heart also can enlarge and cause the same problem where we have a leakage of the aortic valve so the valves normally act as doors open the door to allow blood to go from one chamber to the next or one chamber to the aorta and then closes so the blood doesn't wash back where it came from but sometimes these valves themselves can be involved in disease processes of the heart [Music] you you