Structural Heart Disease and Treatment

The heart is composed of chambers namely a pair of auricles and a pair of ventricles. There are valves present in the heart which control the flow of blood from and to the heart throughout the body, their proper functioning is crucial to maintaining the optimal flow of blood which as a result keeps the pressure on the heart in check. Any damage or injury on the chamber or the valves of the heart can have a deteriorating effect on the heart's working and its overall conditions. Particularly, this category of diseases which are caused by a negative impact on the chambers, walls and, valves of the heart is termed as structural heart diseases. Structural heart diseases are harmful to the health of the heart because the improper functioning of whatever the damaged area of the heart is, it eventually builds excessive pressure on the heart which forces the heart to work faster leading to serious problems. In some cases, the suffering individuals can experience heart failure which can be fatal as well. Many types of treatments have been worked upon as effective treatments against structural heart diseases. For instance, at a point in our lives, we have come across, TAVI surgery or sometimes called as TAVR surgery, these surgeries have proved themselves to be a scientific breakthrough in helping the patients who are suffering from structural heart diseases which particularly impact the aortic valve. In TAVI (transcatheter aortic valve implantation /repair) surgery, the damaged aortic is either repaired or it is welded with a prosthetic so that the normal functioning of the heart can be carried as usual. Many surgical interventions have been developed to treat a variety of structural heart diseases, though, in the initial stages, medications and drugs are provided but if the results are not as required then performing surgeries become a necessity. Now let us explore in detail what are the conditions which can be treated by TAVI surgery. Basically, any type of aortic valve disease interferes with its normal functioning. When the aortic valve is healthy, it is responsible for controlling the flow of blood from the left ventricle of the heart to the aorta. There can be various factors which damage the aortic valve. For aortic valve to function normally, it is important that it opens and closes properly if any sort of unwanted flexibility or loosening is witnessed in the aortic valve, the condition can turn into aortic regurgitation. When an individual suffers from aortic regurgitation, the pressure is accumulated in the heart to work faster because the improper closing of the damaged aortic valve results into the backward flow of blood from the aorta into the left ventricle. Aortic regurgitation is not regular with symptoms, cardiologists say that if the health of the patient is not affected, then this condition can be left untreated but if the opposite happens then TAVR surgery is performed. TAVR surgery is also recommended when the condition of aortic stenosis reaches advanced stages. Due to the accumulation of fat or any other likely element, the surface area of the inner lining of the aortic valve can decrease which narrow downs its opening. As a result, the flow of blood through the aortic valve is constricted causing a negative impact on the heart's working. When the aortic stenosis is severe, the patient is at the risk of experiencing heart failure, the underlying cause being the insufficient flow of blood. Hypertension can also develop as a response to aortic stenosis. It is advised to get severe aortic stenosis treated, surgical procedures are preferred. Like the aortic stenosis, mitral stenosis can be severe structural heart disease. The condition of mitral stenosis is usually accompanied by rheumatic fever. Basically, rheumatic fever acts as a risk factor for mitral stenosis, doctors recommend a detailed diagnosis in children who are suffering from the rheumatic fever so that the potentiality of developing mitral stenosis can be evaluated. Mitral stenosis not only affects the heart but it also poses damage to the lungs. On the similar lines of treating aortic stenosis, mitral stenosis also requires surgical intervention.