At Sentara, we offer a comprehensive program dedicated to structural heart disease and valve disease. We offer the full range of treatment options, including advanced, minimally invasive surgeries to correct structural issues.
If you have a structural heart defect, you may have heart valves that don't work properly. Heart valves control blood flow between the heart's chambers. The flaps (leaflets) of your heart valves can become stiff or form incorrectly.
Damaged heart valves do not close tightly, causing blood to leak through or flow backwards. When this happens, your heart must work harder. Over time, heart valve problems can lead to heart failure or abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmia).
Heart valve disease includes:
- Atresia: When a valve hasn't properly formed or never formed (a heart defect present at birth)
- Regurgitation: When a valve doesn't completely close and blood flows backward (also called prolapse)
Stenosis: When a valve opening becomes narrow and reduces blood flow