What is heart valve surgery?
Heart valve surgery is used to treat heart valve disease, which happens when one or more of the heart's four valves aren't working properly. These valves—mitral, tricuspid, pulmonary and aortic—help keep blood flowing in the right direction through the heart.
Each valve has flaps (called leaflets in the mitral and tricuspid valves, and cusps in the aortic and pulmonary valves) that open and close with each heartbeat. When these valves become damaged and don't open or close properly, it can affect blood flow through the heart and the rest of your body.
During heart valve surgery, the surgeon will repair or replace the damaged valve(s) through traditional open-heart surgery or a less invasive method, depending on your age, overall health, what kind of valve problem you have and how severe it is.
When is heart valve surgery necessary?
You might need heart valve surgery if one of your heart valves—like the aortic, mitral, pulmonary or tricuspid valve— isn’t working properly. Valve problems are usually caused by a few main issues:
- Regurgitation (leakage): When a valve doesn’t close fully, causing blood to flow backward. This makes your heart work harder. Common types are mitral valve regurgitation (blood leaking into the left atrium) and tricuspid valve regurgitation (blood leaking into the right atrium).
- Stenosis (narrowing): When a valve becomes stiff or narrowed, limiting blood flow. For example, aortic valve stenosis makes it harder for blood to flow from your heart to the rest of your body, causing your heart to pump harder.
- Endocarditis (infection): Bacteria can infect a heart valve, causing growths that may damage the valve or structures around the valve.
Other causes can include congenital heart disease, where valves don’t form properly at birth, like mitral valve prolapse or a bicuspid aortic valve. Severe pulmonary valve disease can also cause shortness of breath and swelling, especially when related to heart conditions treated in childhood.
Benefits of heart valve surgery
When you were first diagnosed with heart valve disease, your cardiologist may have recommended medications. Although medications can help you manage symptoms, in many cases they can’t treat heart valve disease or fix a heart valve problem.
Heart valve surgery can treat your condition effectively and, in turn, reduce your risk of heart valve disease complications, such as:
- Atrial fibrillation
- Congestive heart failure
- Stroke
Even if medications helped alleviate some symptoms, treating your heart valve condition can give you more energy and reduce chest pain and shortness of breath. As a result, you’re likely to have more energy for daily activities and things you enjoy doing.
How to prepare for heart valve surgery
Your surgery team will give you instructions and let you know what to expect during the weeks leading up to your procedure. Your pre-operative instructions will vary depending on the type of procedure you will have, your overall health and your other medical conditions.
However, in general, you can expect the following:
- In the weeks leading up to surgery, you will need to quit smoking and stop taking some medications, such as ibuprofen, aspirin and blood-thinning medications.
- You will have blood, urine and imaging tests to ensure you are healthy enough for surgery and to help the surgery team plan your procedure.
- The night before the surgery, you will need to stop eating and drinking. You will have to shower with a special cleanser.
- Be sure to bring toiletries, a robe, slippers, a cell phone and charger, medications and a change of clothes. Also, arrange for someone to drive you home once you're discharged from the hospital.
Heart valve surgery recovery
After heart valve surgery, your doctor or healthcare team will let you know when it’s safe to return to your usual activities. You’ll also need regular follow-up appointments to monitor your heart health, which may include tests.
Your recovery plan may also include cardiac rehabilitation, a supervised program that helps you learn how to care for your heart. You’ll get tips on diet, exercise and stress management to keep your heart and valves healthy. Cardiac rehab also helps you build a healthy routine, which can improve your mental health by boosting your mood and keeping you motivated as you recover.
Making heart-healthy lifestyle changes can help keep your heart in good condition. These changes include eating a balanced diet, getting regular exercise, managing stress and avoiding smoking or tobacco.
Find a location near you
Your heart valve surgery will be performed by an experienced cardiovascular surgeon at one of our many locations in Central and North Texas, with follow-up care and cardiac rehabilitation also available at Baylor Scott & White hospital and clinic locations close to home.
