Valvular Heart Disease

Abstract

Valvular heart disease is a common abnormality seen in the primary care setting. There are many causes of valvular heart disease including congenital, degenerative, infectious, traumatic, and many more. There is a wide variety of types of valvular heart disease with each valve having the ability to develop both regurgitation and stenosis by multiple mechanisms. All these complexities make diagnosis and management of valvular heart disease complicated, especially in the context of comorbidities. For this reason, it is important for primary care physicians to have a thorough understanding of how these diseases present and when interventions are indicated.

Keywords: Aortic regurgitation; Aortic stenosis; Mitral regurgitation; Mitral stenosis; Pulmonary regurgitation; Tricuspid regurgitation; Tricuspid stenosis; Valvular heart disease.