Aortic valve regurgitation

Aortic valve regurgitation<br /><br />Got a question about a health story in the news or a health topic? Heres your chance to get an answer. Send us your questions about general health topics, diet and fitness and mental health.<br /><br />You may not post any unlawful, threatening, libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic or other material that would violate the law. By submitting your question, you hereby give CNN the right, but not the obligation, to post, air, edit, exhibit, telecast, cablecast, webcast, re use, publish, reproduce, use, license, print, distribute or otherwise use your questionss and accompanying personal identifying and other information you provide via all forms of media now known or hereafter devised, worldwide, in perpetuity. CNN Privacy Statment.<br /><br />Aortic valve regurgitation or aortic regurgitation is a condition that occurs when your hearts aortic valve doesnt close tightly. Aortic valve regurgitation allows some of the blood that was just pumped out of your hearts main pumping chamber left ventricle to leak back into it.<br /><br />The leakage of blood may prevent your heart from efficiently pumping blood out to the rest of your body. As a result, you may feel fatigued and short of breath.<br /><br />Aortic valve regurgitation can develop suddenly or over decades. Aortic valve regurgitation has a variety of causes, ranging from congenital heart defects to complications of infectious illnesses. Once aortic valve regurgitation becomes severe, surgery is often required to repair or replace the aortic valve.<br /><br />Most often, aortic valve regurgitation develops gradually, and your heart compensates for the problem. You may have no signs or symptoms for many years, and you may even be unaware that you have this condition.<br /><br />However, as aortic valve regurgitation gets worse, signs and symptoms usually appear and may include:<br /><br />Fatigue and weakness, especially when you increase your activity level<br /><br />Shortness of breath with exertion or when you lie flat<br /><br />Chest pain angina, discomfort or tightness, often increasing during exercise<br /><br />Heart murmur<br /><br />Heart palpitations sensations of a rapid, fluttering heartbeat<br /><br />Swollen ankles and feet edema<br /><br />Take the signs and symptoms of aortic valve regurgitation seriously and call or see a doctor right away if they develop. Sometimes the first indications of aortic valve regurgitation are those of its major complication, congestive heart failure. Signs and symptoms of congestive heart failure a serious condition include fatigue, shortness of breath, and swollen ankles and feet.<br /><br />Your heart, the center of your circulatory system, consists of four chambers. The two upper chambers, the atria, receive blood. The two lower chambers, the ventricles, pump blood to your lungs and to the rest of your body. Blood flows through your hearts chambers, aided by four heart valves.<br /><br />The aortic valve consists of three tightly fitting, triangular flaps of tissues called leaflets. These leaflets connect to the aorta through a ring called the annulus.<br /><br />Heart valves open like a one way gate. The leaflets of the aortic valve are forced open as the left ventricle contracts and blood flows into the aorta. When the blood has gone through the valve and the left ventricle has relaxed, the leaflets swing closed to prevent the blood that has just passed into the aorta from flowing back into the left ventricle.<br /><br />A defective heart valve is one that fails to either open or close fully. When a valve doesnt close tightly, blood can leak backward. This backward flow through a valve is called regurgitation.