Structural & Valvular Heart Care

Aortic stenosis is a common disease of the heart. It results in restricted blood flow through a narrowed aortic valve. The aortic valve separates the main pumping chamber of the heart, the left ventricle, from the rest of the body. In other words, all the blood that the heart pumps to the body must pass through this valve.

So, your aortic valve should open easily, allowing blood to pass through without any resistance.But the aortic valve can become narrow when it becomes diseased. When this happens, it becomes thickened, and heavily calcified, and unable to open properly.

Learn more about signs and symptoms of aortic stenosis.

Normally, the heart triggers each heart beat by sending out an electrical signal, which is conducted through the heart muscle. This signal is transmitted through the heart, causing the heart to pump in a regular, coordinated fashion. For a variety of reasons, the heart’s electrical system can develop a short circuit, where other areas of the heart fire off electrical signals which initiate heartbeats. Atrial fibrillation, or a-fib, is the most common type of these short circuits, and it results in an irregular, and often abnormally fast heart beat.

Learn more about signs and symptoms of atrial fibrillation.

One of the heart valves is the mitral valve, which separates the left upper chamber (left atrium) from the main pumping chamber of the heart, the left ventricle

For a number of reasons, the mitral valve may become thickened and calcified, ultimately becoming clogged. This is a dangerous condition that will prevent oxygen-rich blood from flowing from the lungs into the left ventricle, and ultimately to the body. This clogging of valve is called mitral stenosis.

Learn more about signs and symptoms of mitral stenosis.

The lower left chamber of the heart is also called the left ventricle: It’s the main pumping chamber of the heart. Blood passes from the lungs, where it picks up oxygen, through the mitral valve, into the left ventricle. When the heart pumps, the mitral valve should close so that all the blood flows forward out of the heart to the body. In patients with mitral regurgitation, some of this blood flows backwards, back into the left upper chamber of the heart and back toward the lungs.

Learn more about the signs and symptoms of mitral regurgitation.

An atrial septal defect is a hole between the right atrium and the left atrium, which are the upper chambers of the heart.

Learn about signs and symptoms of ASD.

If your mitral, aortic or tricuspid valve has trouble controlling blood flow through the heart, a surgeon may reshape or rebuild flaps that open and close the valve. Whenever possible, a UNC REX Healthcare surgeon will perform your procedure using a minimally invasive technique that requires smaller incisions and speeds recovery.

Sometimes, a mitral, aortic or tricuspid valve is too damaged for repair. So, a surgeon may replace it with a valve made of metal or biological material. Whenever possible, a UNC REX Healthcare surgeon will perform the procedure using a minimally invasive technique that requires smaller incisions and speeds recovery.

If you don’t qualify for surgery to replace the aortic valve, you may benefit from a less-invasive procedure called transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR).

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is a minimally invasive procedure to replace the aortic valve in patients who have severe, symptomatic aortic stenosis.

Your doctor may recommend a new treatment called MitraClip Therapy if you don’t qualify for mitral valve surgery. The MitraClip procedure, otherwise known as a Transcatheter Mitral Valve Repair with MitraClip Therapy, is a minimally invasive repair of the mitral valve, the valve that separates the upper left and lower left chambers of your heart.

In a valvuloplasty, a physician threads a tiny balloon through an artery and up to a heart valve that doesn’t open fully because of disease or calcium buildup. When inflated, the balloon widens the valve opening and improves blood flow.

If you have non-valvular atrial fibrillation, the new Watchman^TM device may reduce your risk of stroke. This treatment offers an alternative to blood-thinning medications. Learn more about Watchman.