Heart valve disease is any condition that prevents your valves from functioning properly. It is the third most common cause of heart problems in the United States, and includes a variety of conditions and symptoms.

Each person experiences heart valve disease signs and symptoms differently—from a mild heart valve defect that goes unnoticed to more serious damage that may cause chest pain, irregular heartbeats, migraines, fatigue, dizziness, abnormal blood pressure and shortness of breath.

Women develop problems with the heart valves just as often as men do and at all ages. In fact, there are some types of heart valve problems, such as abnormalities resulting from rheumatic fever and mitral valve prolapse, which occur more often in women. Heart valve disease is a particular challenge for women of childbearing age, since in severe cases it may increase the risk of pregnancy for mother and baby.

• Normal aging process
• Congenital (born with) heart valve defects
• Damage from a heart attack
• Damage by rheumatic fever (inflammatory disease that may develop after an infection with streptococcus bacteria—such as strep throat or scarlet fever)
• Hypercholesterolemia (buildup of calcium on the valve or calcific degeneration)
• Infective endocarditis (infection in the lining of the heart walls and valves)

Accurately diagnosing heart valve disease is key to starting proper treatments. Our patients benefit from sophisticated technology that can detect and reveal types of heart valve disease even before symptoms occur. This includes state-of-the-art imaging like echocardiography, computerized tomography (CT) scan and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).