by Edna Harris

Created on: November 10, 2007

There are more than several diseases of the heart. The first I will write about is Valvular insufficiency is any failure of a value that prevent regurgitation , the backward flow of blood. Valvular steno sis a form of insufficiency in which the cusps are stiffened and the opening is damage by scar tissue. It mostly results from having rheumatic fever, which is an autoimmune disease. The antibodies produced to fight off the bacterial infection will also attack the mitral and aortic valves of the heart. The heart overworks when the valves become scarred and constricted. The heart is overworked when the heart is forced to push blood through the openings and may become enlarged.A turbulence is created when regurgitation of blood through the incompetent valves that can be heard as a heart murmur. Mitral valve prolapse a insufficiency in which either one or both mitral valves cusps push or move into the atrium during ventricular contraction. A defective valve can be replaced with an artificial valve or a valve transplanted from available resources. A incompetent valve can eventually lead to heart failure. In most cases is often hereditary an affects about 1 out of 40 people especially young women. In most cases it causes no serious dysfunctions, some individuals it causes chest pain, fatigue and shortness of breath.

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