Aortic valve Replacement Treatment

What is Aortic Valve Replacement?

Aortic valve replacement and aortic valve repair are the procedures that are used for treating diseases that affects the aortic valve. The aortic valve is one of four valves that help in regulating the blood flow through the heart. These aortic valves keep the blood flow in the right direction through the heart. The aortic valve separates the main artery and the heart's main pumping chamber that provide oxygen-rich blood to the patient’s body. Along with each contraction of the ventricle, the aortic valve opens and thus allowing the blood to flow through the left ventricle of the heart to the aorta. When the ventricle relaxes, the aortic valve closes preventing the blood from flowing backward into the ventricle. When the aortic valve is not working properly, the aortic valve can disturb the blood flow as well as interfere with the force the heart to work harder for supplying the necessary blood to the rest of the body. In some of the people, aortic valve disease may not show any symptoms or signs for many years. Others may feel fatigued, chest pain, loss of consciousness, irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia), heart failure sudden cardiac death and shortness of breath. Aortic valve replacement or aortic valve repair can be used for treating the aortic valve disease and help in restoring the normal blood flow, reducing the symptoms, prolong life and help to preserve the function of the patient’s heart muscle.

Why do the patients require Aortic valve replacement?

Aortic valve disease replacement depends on the severity of the patient’s condition, whether or not the patients are experiencing any symptoms and signs, and if the patient’s condition is getting worse.

Types of aortic valve disease that may need treatment with aortic valve replacement or repair include:

Aortic valve regurgitation occurs when blood flows through the aortic valve is reverse into the left ventricle of the heart each time the ventricle relaxes rather than in the normal, one-way direction to the aorta through the ventricle.

Backflow of the blood may be caused due to a leaky valve or dysfunctional. This may be resulted due to an abnormal valve shape present at birth or by a bacterial infection or deterioration of the valve.

Aortic valve stenosis results in the aortic valve to become obstructed or narrowed, which makes it harder for the heart to pump the blood into the aorta. This may be caused by congenital heart disease, thickening of the valve's closure flaps (cusps) or post-inflammatory changes, such as those associated with rheumatic heart disease.

Congenital heart disease may contribute to aortic valve regurgitation or stenosis as well as result in other problems that prevent the aortic valve from working properly. For example, a person may be born with an aortic valve that does not have enough tissue flaps, the valve may be the wrong shape or size, or there may not be an opening which allows the blood to flow normally.

For some people with mild aortic valve disease without symptoms, careful monitoring under a doctor's supervision may be all that's needed.

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Procedure for the Aortic valve Replacement:

An aortic valve replacement is usually carried out under general anesthetic.

General anesthetic means the patients will be asleep during the surgery and won't experience any pain while the surgery is being carried out.

During the procedure:

• A large incision of about 25cm long is made in the patient’s chest for accessing the patient’s heart, however, sometimes a smaller incision may be made
• The patient’s heart is being stopped and a heart-lung machine is used for taking over the job of the heart during the surgery
• The faulty or damaged valve is replaced and removed with the new one
• The patient’s heart is being restarted and the opening in the patient’s chest is being closed

The surgery generally takes a few hours. The patient will have a discussion with their surgeon or doctor before the surgery to decide whether an animal or a synthetic tissue replacement valve is most suitable for the patients.

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The alternative of the Aortic valve Replacement:

An aortic valve replacement is the best treatment of all for aortic valve conditions.

Alternative procedures are generally used if open heart surgery is way too risky.

Possible alternatives of the Aortic Valve Replacement include the following:

• Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI): The replacement valve is guided into the place via the blood vessels, rather than through a large cut made on the chest
• Aortic valve balloon valvuloplasty: The valve is widened with the help of a balloon
• Sutureless aortic valve replacement: The valve has not secured the help of stitches for minimizing the time spent on a heart-lung machine

How soon will I recover?

Things that can affect the surgery include the type of surgery, age, and overall health. The patients are more likely to spend a week in the hospital. When the patients first reach home, the wound will might be red, sore, and swollen. The patients will get tired very easily. The patients might not feel like eating much, and the patients might find difficulty in sleeping. These signs will be shown by the patients, and it gets better with time. The patient’s breastbone will require at least 8 weeks for healing, but the body may require at least 3 months or so before the body get back to normal. The doctor may recommend some exercise program or cardiac rehab for help. It requires at least 6 weeks by the patients to get back to the work, which is a desk job. But if the patient’s work requires more physical, it could take up to at least 3 months.

What are the Risks involved?

Most of the patients do well with this operation. Like any surgery, it can result in some complication, which includes the following:

• Bleeding caused after the surgery
• Blood clotting
• Heart rhythm gets disturbed for a while
• Infection
• Kidney problems that may last for a few days after the operation
• New valve does not work or wears out with the time
• Stroke

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