valvular heart disease [L, valva + AS, hoert + L, dis, opposite of; Fr, aise, ease] , an acquired or congenital disorder of a cardiac valve. It is characterized by stenosis and obstructed blood flow and by valvular degeneration and regurgitation of blood. Diseases of aortic and mitral valves are most common and may be caused by congenital defects, bacterial endocarditis, syphilis, or, most frequently, rheumatic fever. Episodes of rheumatic fever cause the cardiac valves to degenerate and remain open or cause the cusps of the valves to become stiff, calcified, constricted, and fused. Valvular dysfunction results in changes in intracardiac pressure and pulmonary and peripheral circulation. It may lead to cardiac arrhythmia, heart failure, and cardiogenic shock. Cardiotonics, diuretics, analgesics, sodium restriction, and antibiotics, if indicated, are used in the conservative treatment of valvular heart disease. Surgery is usually performed when the symptoms are incapacitating. A diseased valve may be repaired by removing the calcium deposits and opening the fused commissures or by removing a cusp and reconstructing the valve, or it may be replaced with a porcine or artificial valve. Kinds include aortic regurgitation, aortic stenosis, mitral regurgitation, mitral valve stenosis, pulmonary stenosis, tricuspid stenosis.
