Cardiology. Heart Valves - Human Life

Healthy heart called a strong, working continuously and without failures body. Its size corresponds to the size of a person's fist, and its weight is about five hundred grams. In addition to its main function to provide normal (stable) blood flow, it is able to adapt to the regularly changing needs of the body.

Working as a two-way pump, the heart ensures blood circulation throughout the body. With the help of the muscular wall (septum) it is divided into halves. Each half contains two chambers (atria and ventricles).

The right atrium receives all the blood from the lower and upper parts of the body. On the tricuspid valve, blood is sent to the right ventricle, which pumps blood through the valve of the trunk of the lungs. Enriched with oxygen, it goes to the left atrium. From there, on the mitral valve, blood is sent to the left ventricle, which distributes blood throughout the body through the aortic valve . Having supplied the tissues with oxygen, it, depleted, again enters the right atrium.

Heart valves are opening in one direction "doors" between chambers. They not only support the advance of blood, but also prevent its movement backward. Healthy heart valves have petals consisting of a thin, flexible, normal-shaped tissue. With cardiac relaxation and contractions, closure and opening takes place without failure.

Congenital defects can cause pathology. Heart valves can become scarred or damaged as a result of infection, rheumatic attack, hereditary pathology, heart attacks. Damage can also be caused by human age. The mitral valve is at greatest risk . At the same time, there comes a regulate (mitral insufficiency), at which the blood flows out of the valve in the opposite direction after the closure of its valves. In this case, the work of the heart becomes more tense - it tries to supply the necessary amount of blood in the body and make up for the deficiency. Damage to the valves of the heart includes stenosis (narrowing of the valve opening), in which blood does not pass well through the valve. In this case, too, the organ begins to work more tightly to allow enough blood to pass through the narrow opening. This additional tension in the heart weakens it, leads to its increase and causes various diseases.

In many cases, people who take the necessary medicines and are under proper medical supervision, having heart disease, live a full life. However, it happens that drugs either do not bring effect, or become dangerous to health. Depending on the condition, the doctor can prescribe restoration or prosthetics of the mitral valve. However, with serious deformations or damage, restoration will not bring the desired result. In such, especially difficult situations, it is necessary to replace the heart valve. Surgical intervention is necessary in the manifestation of symptoms of chronic heart failure and with a significant decrease in the discharge of blood by the left ventricle (a violation of the systolic function).

Reconstruction (restoration, plastic) of the valve is carried out with the preservation of its own heart valve. In this case, after the operation, the patient does not need a constant intake of blood thinning medications.

In case of severe, unrecoverable damage, replace (prosthetic) valves are prescribed. To do this, use mechanical (artificial) or biological (tissue) prosthesis.

Mechanical heart valves are very reliable and durable, do not require replacement. However, they have a significant disadvantage - to prevent blood clotting, the patient is prescribed appropriate medication for life after the operation.

Biological prostheses are made from chemically treated parts of the hearts of animals (horses, cows or pigs). After the installation of a tissue valve prosthesis, the patient is not prescribed medications that dilute the blood. However, the life of the prosthesis is limited in time and after a certain period (ten to fifteen years) it is destroyed, so that a second operation is possible.