Description

The heart has four valves that ensure that blood flows in the correct direction. A defective valve can either fail to close completely and leak (regurgitation), or cannot open completely so that blood pumps through a smaller opening (stenosis). All valves can be affected. Valvular diseases are fairly common in developing countries, and the most common valvular disease in the United States, mitral valve prolapse, affects over 2 percent of the general population. This three-course suite examines the causes, diagnoses, prognoses, and treatments for valvular diseases.