Pulmonary Valve Stenosis: Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis And Treatment

The heart is a very complicated well-designed organ that can sometimes malfunction. The heart has valves, which ensure that blood flow is unidirectional and doesn’t end up going backwards. Unfortunately, these valves don't always work properly, which leads to the development of certain diseases. One such disease is pulmonary valve stenosis.

How severe is pulmonary valve stenosis?

This disease ranges from mild, in which patients don’t show any symptoms, to severe. When people have mild pulmonary stenosis, it usually doesn’t get worse over time — but patients with moderate and severe disease can potentially suffer increasingly serious consequences and require surgery. The good news is that surgery for pulmonary valve stenosis is largely successful and most patients will lead normal lives.

What are the symptoms of pulmonary valve stenosis?

The symptoms for pulmonary valve stenosis can largely vary as it depends on the severity of the disease. Patients that have mild pulmonary stenosis don’t generally exhibit symptoms. However, patients with severe pulmonary valve stenosis will have symptoms that include:

• Having a heart murmur, which sounds like an abnormal whooshing sound due to a turbulent blood flow.
• Tiredness or fatigue
• Feeling short of breath
• Experiencing chest pain
• Fainting

What are the risk factors of pulmonary valve stenosis?

Since pulmonary valve stenosis usually comes about as a result of birth defects, there aren’t too many known risk factors, though certain conditions are more likely to increase your risk of developing pulmonary valve stenosis. Risk factors include:

• Carcinoid syndrome, which occurs due to a rare tumor called a carcinoid tumor that emits certain chemicals into your bloodstream.
• Rheumatic fever, a disorder that affects the heart, brain, joints and skin.
• Noonan syndrome, a disease in which individuals don’t undergo normal develops for different parts of their body.
• Pulmonary valve replacement, a surgical method to replace the valve.

What are the complications associated with pulmonary valve stenosis?

People with pulmonary valve stenosis can experience several complications, including:

• Infections. Patients who have heart valve problems are at a higher risk of having bacterial infections in the lining of the heart compared to people who don’t have heart valve problems.
• Issues with heart pumping. Patients with severe pulmonary valve stenosis have issues pumping blood and thus, the heart needs to work harder which causes part of the heart to thicken. This causes the heart to become stiff and weak.
• Heart failure. Patients with severe pulmonary valve stenosis can cause heart failure because the heart doesn’t pump as efficiently as possible. This causes the swelling of the legs and abdomen and causes the feeling tiredness and feeling short of breath.
• Arrhythmia, which refers to an irregular heartbeat. Patients with severe pulmonary valve stenosis have higher chances of an irregular heartbeat. Fortunately, this is not normally a life-threatening issue.

How do you get diagnosed with pulmonary valve stenosis?

Pulmonary valve stenosis usually is diagnosed early in childhood, but in some cases, people won't know they have it until much later in life. The diagnosis may result when your doctor hears a heart murmur when there is a regular check-up. These are the different tests that your doctor may ask you to participate in:

• An echocardiogram, which looks at the structure of the pulmonary valve, where its located, and how small or narrow your valve is.
• An electrocardiogram, which measures the electrical activity in your heart and can help determine how thick the muscular wall of your heart is.
• Imaging tests, such as MRI and CT scans, which can help confirm the diagnosis.
• Cardiac catheterization, which allows your blood vessels to be visible on X-rays and can help measure the blood pressure in the heart chambers.

What is the treatment for pulmonary valve stenosis?

Usually, mild pulmonary stenosis doesn’t cause any symptoms and doesn’t require treatment. However, your doctor will keep any eye on it during routine checkups.

For patients with severe pulmonary valve stenosis, doctors may recommend:

• A balloon valvuloplasty, which involves putting in an uninflated balloon through the opening of a narrowed valve. Once the balloon is inflated, that widens the narrowed valve to improve the blood flow.
• Open-heart surgery. During open-heart surgery, your doctor will either repair the pulmonary artery or valve or replace the valve using an artificial one.

How do you prevent complications associated with pulmonary valve stenosis?

These are the things you can do to prevent complications associated with pulmonary valve stenosis:

• Preventative antibiotics, in order to avoid an infection of the heart.
• Having a heart-healthy lifestyle, such as quitting smoking, eating a good diet, maintaining a healthy weight and regular physical activity.