When you think of heart disease, do you automatically think of heart attacks?
Well, there’s more to your heart and a new study has revealed two in three Australians are unaware of heart valve disease, which has been described as the ‘next cardiac epidemic’.
So what is heart valve disease? At its simplest level, it means your heart valve or valves don’t open or close properly.
Heart valves control blood flow to, from and within the heart, and heart valve disease can impair that vital function.
If one or more of your heart valves is damaged or diseased, your heart may need to work harder to pump blood. This can disrupt blood flow to your body.
According to the heart health charity hearts4heart more than half a million Australians have heart valve disease, yet a study commissioned by the charity found only one-third of Australians are aware of the disease and its impacts.
Symptoms to look out for
Unfortunately, many symptoms, such as fatigue, shortness of breath, palpitations and dizziness, can often be dismissed as problems common to old age.
Adding to the problem is many people show no symptoms and the disease can go undetected for many years.
“If left undetected and untreated, heart valve disease can damage the heart’s valves and lead to heart failure, stroke, and an irregular heartbeat,” said hearts4heart CEO and founder Tanya Hall.
“These complications can have a significant toll on people’s quality of life and can also result in avoidable deaths,”
“However, if heart valve disease is diagnosed early, it is treatable, and people with the disease can live a full and happy life, which is why during Heart Valve Disease Awareness Week [26 February to 3 March], we are amplifying our efforts to ensure all Australians have the condition front of mind.”
Heart valve disease can be detected by a simple stethoscope check to identify a heart murmur, which can indicate valve disease. For a formal diagnosis you may have to undergo a scan or X-ray.
Undetected, undiagnosed, untreated
“In too many cases the illness is undetected, undiagnosed, untreated, or treated too late. If left untreated, certain patients with aortic valve disease, with symptoms such as shortness of breath or chest pain, can die within 2 years of diagnosis, a prognosis that is worse than most cancers,” said Professor Dion Stub of Monash University and Interventional Cardiologist, Alfred Health.
“If left untreated, certain patients with aortic valve disease, with symptoms such as shortness of breath or chest pain, can die within 2 years of diagnosis, a prognosis that is worse than most cancers.”
As part of Heart Valve Disease Awareness Week 2024, hearts4heart is supporting heart screening events in New South Wales and Victoria. The screening events will be held at selected hospitals until 7 March. Find out a hospital near you here.
Although heart valve problems can potentially be severe and even life-threatening, these conditions can also be treatable.
As well as the symptoms described above, other symptoms to look out for include chest pain, irregular heartbeat and swollen ankles and feet.
Have you suffered from heart valve disease? How was it diagnosed? Why not share your experience in the comments section below?
Also read: Link between walnuts and your heart health revealed
I’ve had this issue with my heart. I’ve also had severe asthma since I was a child and assumed my shortness of breath was my asthma playing up. This happened for many months until my condition was such that my wife rushed me to hospital and the issue was detected.
We received your email far too late to be able to attend. Your life choices email was received 9am on 1st March 2024 (today). The nearest one we could attend is 6hrs away and by then their open time would be over 🙁. That’s the last available in Victoria.
Dental health has a huge effect on heart valves. A tooth abscess left too long by my father eventually killed him by destroying his aortic valve at just 62.
Most bacterial infections leave calcium calculi behind even if the bugs themselves are cleared up with antibiotics. These calcium deposits will continue to grow and research into prostate and breast cancers suggest that the calculi are the precise sites where rogue cells grow/attach and develop, sometimes years later, as a complication of the previous infection.
Evidence to support this contention please? Please supply appropriate references and journal articles
The valves can also be affected from other conditions also. My partner had atrial fibrillation which his cardiologist at that time was only using medication. Because of this during the course of a year, he became so lethargic he could hardly move and had depression. No matter what this cardiologist would not budge from his view that medication would fix the situation. My partner became very ill so I rushed us to the nearest private hospital emergency department. It seems he was going into organ failure because the 2 valves needed repairing and the aortic valve replacing due to being overworked from the medication. Luckily his cardiologist was away on holidays and he saw a new one who diagnosed the problem, brought in a Thoracic surgeon, who operated a few days later, but first they had to purge the build up of liquid around the heart and organs – 10 litres worth. After open heart surgery, he bounced back like new. The lesson is to always question and now years later, a change in cardiologists would have been appropriate – hindsight is such a good thing.
Yeah, Diagenes, the papers that support that nonsense re Prostate and breast Ca would be interesting. I spent 50 yeaars in Pathology, 28 ih Hiostology and havee saeen those hard knobbly clusters on a valve, , can become quite a size.
Frank C