The heart acts basically as a pump, pumping the blood around the
body. Within the heart are four valves which ensure that the flow of blood
is unrestricted and one way. Heart valves may become damaged or diseased
so that the normal function is disturbed. Diseased valves may obstruct the
flow of blood (valve stenosis) and may also become leaky (valve
incompetence). These abnormalities place an increasing strain on the heart
which the patient often recognises by the appearance of tiredness or
breathlessness on exercise. In some patients, the damaged valve may be
noticed when a heart murmur is heard by his doctor. Serious damage within
the valve may be present even though the patient has no symptoms at all.
In some patients only one of the four valves is affected, in others
surgery may be required for two or even three affected valves. The names of
the heart valves most commonly affected are the mitral valve and the aortic
valve.
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Food should be fun a booklet available from the British Heart Foundation. The Light-Hearted Cookbook by Anne Lindsay (Grub Street in association with the British Heart Foundation £9.95) available from most good book shops or from BHF’s mail order catalogue at Heart Cards Ltd, FREEPOST, PO Box 45, Burton upon Trent, Staffs DE14 1BR. The […]
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