hartklepprocedures

Hartklepprocedures refer to medical interventions designed to diagnose, repair, or replace faulty heart valves. The heart has four main valves: the aortic, mitral, pulmonary, and tricuspid valves, which ensure blood flows in the correct direction through the heart chambers. When these valves become diseased, either narrowed (stenosis) or leaky (regurgitation), they can impair the heart's ability to pump blood effectively, leading to various symptoms.

Diagnostic procedures for heart valve problems often include echocardiography (ultrasound of the heart), which can visualize the valves' structure and function. Other tests may involve electrocardiograms (ECG), chest X-rays, cardiac MRI, or cardiac catheterization.

Treatment options range from medication to manage symptoms and prevent complications to surgical or minimally invasive procedures. Surgical valve repair aims to restore the valve's normal function without replacing it. If repair is not possible, valve replacement is performed, where the diseased valve is substituted with either a mechanical prosthetic valve or a biological (tissue) valve. Minimally invasive techniques, such as transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) or transcatheter mitral valve repair (TMVR), are increasingly used for certain patients, involving smaller incisions and often quicker recovery times compared to traditional open-heart surgery. The choice of procedure depends on the specific valve affected, the severity of the disease, the patient's overall health, and other individual factors.