Your heart contains valves that are designed to keep your blood flowing in the right direction. As your heart muscle contracts and pushes blood out of one of its four chambers, the valve opens to allow the blood to flow through. Then the valve closes so that your blood does not flow back or regurgitate into the chamber it just left. If, due to disease or injury, your valves do not function properly, you can develop symptoms to indicate that. It is important to talk to your doctor about these symptoms, as treatment options are available.
Common Symptoms
According to the University of Virginia Health System, many people with heart valve disease never have symptoms. You can have a mild condition that never needs treatment. In addition, since many problems can occur with the heart valves, symptoms vary greatly from person to person. However, if your heart valve disease does cause symptoms, you may experience chest pain, dizziness, shortness of breath, irregular heart beats or palpitations, and feel fatigued.
Additional Symptoms
This condition can also cause either high or low blood pressure, headaches, and abdominal pain and bloating. Since these symptoms occur with many other conditions, it is important to see your doctor for a proper diagnosis. According to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, "The main sign of heart valve disease is an unusual heart sound called a heart murmur." Your doctor can listen to your heart to detect if you have a murmur and then order the appropriate tests, if necessary.
Severe Symptoms
If this condition goes untreated or becomes severe, your heart muscle may enlarge and otherwise not work properly. The Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital states that you may develop congestive heart failure, life-threatening blood clots and cardiomyopathy (an inflammation of the heart muscle). You may have severe chest pains, fainting spells, shortness of breath with even mild exertion or when lying down, edema, weight gain and mental confusion.
