Heart valve disease and conditions affect one or more of the four valves in the heart called the tricuspid, pulmonary, mitral and aortic valves. Heart valve malfunctions can occur due to disease, infection or defects that are present since birth, known as congenital heart disease. The Cleveland Clinic notes that rheumatic fever used to be a common cause of heart valve disease in women. These problems result in improper closing and opening of the heart valves during each heartbeat, making the heart work harder to keep blood flowing in the body. Heart valve malfunctions lead to problems such blood regurgitation, or backflow; stenosis, or hardening of the valves; and atresia, or blockage. There are several signs of heart valve malfunctions.
Murmur
A major sign of heart valve problems are heart murmurs, which can be heard with a stethoscope. However, the website Women Heart notes that a murmur does not always signify valve problems. In some cases, a murmur may be the only sign of a malfunction in a valve. According to the Cleveland Clinic the most common cause of murmurs is mitral valve prolapse, which affects about 6 percent of women.
Pain
Some types of heart valve malfunctions can cause pain, which the Yale University Faculty of Medicine describes as "sticking chest pains." The pain can occur suddenly and for no apparent reason. This type of pain can occur due to mitral valve prolapse along with other symptoms such as irregular heartbeats, panic attacks and palpitation. Mitral valve prolapse is not commonly fatal, but can lead to severe blood leakage of the valve and an enlarged heart. Some heart valve problems may also cause joint pain and muscle aches.
Infection
If the heart valve problems are due to viral or bacterial infection, called endocarditis, other signs of the infection may be noticed in the body. WomenHeart.org lists these to include fever, chills, night sweats, paleness, weakness, weight loss and shortness of breath.
Heart Failure Signs
Other signs of heart valve disease occur at later stages and are related to heart failure, which eventually occurs in some cases. Symptoms include severe fatigue, shortness of breath during physical exertion and lying down, and edema, or swelling of the abdomen, feet and ankles.
