“The core tip: If the heart valves are structurally or functionally altered due to congenital malformation or acquired rheumatism, bacterial infection, degeneration, etc., resulting in obstructed blood flow or regurgitation, it will affect the heart’s “pumping” function Over time, this can lead to impaired heart function, i.e. heart valve disease. The heart is like a power pump, pushing the blood to circulate repeatedly, providing oxygen and nutrients for the organs of the body. There are four chambers in the heart, the upper one is called the atrium, the lower one is called the ventricle, and the atrium and ventricle have their own left and right, with valves separating the heart chambers. There are four heart valves: the aortic valve, mitral valve, pulmonary valve and tricuspid valve. These valves are like “one-way valves” that ensure that the blood circulation flows in a fixed direction. That is, blood flows from one heart chamber to the next when the valves are open, and it does not flow back when the valves are closed. If the heart valves are structurally or functionally altered due to congenital malformations or acquired rheumatism, bacterial infection, degeneration, etc., resulting in obstruction or regurgitation of blood flow, it will affect the “pumping” function of the heart, which over time causes the heart to become impaired, i.e., heart valve disease occurs. So what are the clinical manifestations of heart valve disease? The clinical manifestations of the disease vary slightly depending on the valves involved. Patients usually experience dyspnea, palpitations, dizziness and weakness. (1) Exertional dyspnea, telangiectatic breathing, paroxysmal dyspnea at night: caused by pulmonary stasis and pulmonary edema. (2) Cough: mostly aggravated at night during sleep or labor. Coughing of pink foamy sputum in pulmonary edema. (3) Hemoptysis: rupture of submucosal bronchial veins or pulmonary capillaries. (4) Panic and palpitations: due to elevated pressure in the left atrium, causing arrhythmias such as premature atrial beats, atrial fibrillation or supraventricular tachycardia. (5) Dysphagia: caused by marked dilatation of the left atrium compressing the esophagus. (6) Hoarseness: caused by the enlarged left atrium compressing the recurrent laryngeal nerve. (7) Dizziness and weakness: caused by insufficient cardiac blood displacement. (8) Syncope during exercise, angina pectoris, or even sudden death: seen in aortic valve stenosis. (9) Strong pulsation sensation in the arteries of the neck and head: seen in aortic valve closure insufficiency. (10) Abdominal pain and distension: right heart insufficiency or right heart failure with venous stasis in the body circulation. Heart failure is the leading cause of death due to heart valve disease. In addition, complications due to heart valve disease include: (1) pulmonary infections: long-term pulmonary stasis, which predisposes to pulmonary infections, is the main cause of triggering or aggravating heart failure. (2) Arrhythmias: Atrial fibrillation is the most common, often aggravating heart failure and predisposing to embolism. (3) Cerebral infarction, cold limbs, intermittent claudication: commonly seen in patients with heart valve disease combined with atrial fibrillation, where thrombus dislodgement leads to cerebral embolism or arterial embolism in the limbs. (4) Infective endocarditis: mostly occurs in patients with mitral valve closure insufficiency or aortic valve closure insufficiency. (5) Acute pulmonary edema: seen in severe mitral stenosis. (6) Sudden death: mostly seen in aortic stenosis. (7) Heart failure: is the leading cause of death from heart valve disease. How is heart valve disease treated? Early treatment of valve disease with internal medicine is similar to a door with peeling paint or minor cracks in the door panel, which can be repaired by painting. However, when the door “won’t open” or “won’t close”, it cannot be repaired by painting alone and must be repaired surgically or replaced with a new door. Only in this way can we reduce or eliminate the symptoms, avoid complications, improve the quality of life, and achieve long-term survival.