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Although medications can serve a very important purpose, there is no medication that will stop a valve from leaking. Likewise, there is no medication that will open a valve that is too tightly constricted.
Is there a medication that will stop a valve from leaking?
Patients can use medications to help re-establish normal brain function and decrease cravings. Medications are available for treatment of opioid (heroin, prescription pain relievers), tobacco (nicotine), and alcohol addiction.
What are the treatment options for addiction?
Many surgical approaches can be used to repair or replace heart valves, including open-heart surgery or minimally invasive heart surgery. Your treatment depends on several factors, including your age, your health, the condition of the affected heart valve and the severity of your condition. Video Player is loading. This is a modal window.
What are the treatment options for heart valves?
Coumadin Therapy After Mechanical Valve Replacement Surgery. If you suffer from severe valve disease, including aortic stenosis or mitral regurgitation, you may be required to select a heart valve replacement if your valve can not be repaired. I personally remember researching this topic prior to my aortic valve replacement.
Can I take coumadin therapy after mechanical valve replacement surgery?
What drug is prescribed after heart valve replacement?
To reduce the risk of clots that may form on the new valve, cardiologists prescribe antiplatelet drugs. Such medications stop blood cells called platelets from sticking together and forming clots, which can cause heart attacks and strokes. Among the most commonly used antiplatelets are aspirin and clopidogrel (Plavix).
Is there rehab after valve replacement?
Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for patients who have had heart valve surgery. Analysis of data shows that CR increases exercise capacity and quality of life, and facilitates return to work, with minimal risk of significant adverse effects.
Why do patients with artificial valves need drugs?
You'll need to take at least one or more types of blood thinning medication to avoid blood clots. This is because a mechanical valve is made of artificial material. Your body's natural reaction to this is to try and 'fix' this which is when a clot can form.
Which of the following valve is mostly affected in drug abusers?
Infective endocarditis (IE) is a notorious complication of intravenous drug use (IDU). It typically affects the cardiac valves. Among these, the tricuspid is the most common affected valve, although the mitral and/or aortic valves can also be involved.
How long is cardiac rehab after valve replacement?
How long does it take to recover after heart valve surgery? Recovering from valve surgery usually takes most people between 4 and 8 weeks.
Can you lead a normal life after heart valve replacement?
Each year in the United States, more than five million Americans are diagnosed with heart valve disease, which occurs when one or more heart valves are not opening or closing properly.
Do you need anti rejection drugs after heart valve replacement?
These valves are specially treated, so no medicines are needed to stop the body from rejecting the valve.
Do you have to take anti rejection drugs after valve replacement?
No. After the TAVR [Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement] procedure you will take an antiplatelet agent (Plavix or something similar) for a minimum of 3 months. Simple and effective procedure.
How serious is a heart valve replacement?
An aortic valve replacement is a major operation and occasionally the complications can be fatal. Overall, the risk of dying as a result of the procedure is estimated to be 2%. But this risk is far lower than the risk associated with leaving severe aortic disease untreated.
Why do drug addicts get endocarditis?
Endocarditis is often associated with heart defects or abnormal valves, but can also be formed by using unsanitary needles to inject drugs. This causes bacteria from the needle to be released directly into the bloodstream.
Do you have endocarditis forever?
If germs or bacteria from other parts of your body, such as your mouth, spread through your blood and attach to this lining, it causes endocarditis. If the infection isn't treated with antibiotics or surgery, it can do permanent damage and can even be deadly.
Which heart valve is most commonly affected by endocarditis?
The tricuspid valve is most commonly affected (50%), whereas involvement of the mitral and aortic valves is less common (20% each). The involvement of multiple valves is common. Pulmonary valve endocarditis is rare.
How Does Coumadin Protect Against Blood Clots?
No matter how well designed a mechanical heart valve replacement may be, the body still realizes that it is a foreign object. The surface of the va...
Are There Any Side Effects of Coumadin?
Coumadin carries certain potential side effects and interactions that patients should discuss with their physicians prior to and while taking the m...
How Is Coumadin Therapy Managed During The Patient's Life?
The physician may need to adjust a patient’s dosage multiple times to find what is optimal for the individual. While each patient’s dosage must be...
What to write down for a heart valve appointment?
Write down your symptoms, including any that seem unrelated to heart valve disease. Write down key personal information, including a family history of heart disease , and any major stresses or recent life changes.
What test is used to diagnose heart valve disease?
In a physical examination, your doctor will likely listen for a heart murmur, as this can be a sign of a heart valve condition. Your doctor may order several tests to diagnose your condition. Tests may include: Echocardiography.
What is a TAVR?
Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is a minimally invasive procedure to replace a narrowed aortic valve that fails to open properly (aortic valve stenosis). In this procedure, doctors insert a catheter in your leg or chest and guide it to your heart.
What kind of doctor is best for heart valve disease?
A doctor trained in heart disease (cardiologist) will provide your care. If you have heart valve disease, consider being evaluated and treated at a medical center with a multidisciplinary team of doctors and medical staff trained and experienced in evaluating and treating heart valve disease.
What is robot assisted heart surgery?
In some medical centers, doctors may perform robot-assisted heart surgery, a type of minimally invasive heart surgery in which surgeons use robotic instruments to conduct the procedure. Doctors may also use less invasive procedures to repair certain valves using long, thin tubes (catheters) in some people.
Can you have heart valve surgery if you are not experiencing symptoms?
Doctors may suggest heart valve surgery even if you aren't experiencing symptoms, as this may prevent complications and improve outcomes. If you need surgery for another heart condition, your doctor may repair or replace the diseased valve at the same time.
Can a tavr valve be repaired?
Some TAVR valves are self-expanding. If the valve can't be repaired, surgeons may perform heart valve replacement. In heart valve replacement, your surgeon removes the damaged valve and replaces it with a mechanical valve or a valve made from cow, pig or human heart tissue (biological or tissue valve).
What are the symptoms of a heart valve replacement?
If your heart valve (s) becomes damaged or diseased, you may have the following symptoms: Dizziness. Chest pain.
Why do you need IV meds?
You may be on IV (intravenous) medicines to help your blood pressure and your heart and to control any problems with bleeding. As your condition stabilizes, your doctor will gradually decrease then stop these medicines. He or she will also remove any pacing wires in your heart you may have.
What causes a heart valve to be stiff?
Conditions that may cause heart valve dysfunction are valve stenosis (stiffness) and valve regurgitation (leaky valve). When one (or more) valve (s) becomes stenotic (stiff), the heart has to work harder to pump the blood through the valve. Valves can become narrow and stiff from infection (such as rheumatic fever or staph) and aging.
What are the valves that keep blood flowing forward?
Valves between each of the heart's pumping chambers keep blood flowing forward through the heart. Tricuspid valve. Located between the right atrium and the right ventricle. Pulmonary valve. Located between the right ventricle and the pulmonary artery. Mitral valve. Located between the left atrium and the left ventricle. Aortic valve.
What is minimally invasive surgery?
Minimally invasive procedures make smaller incisions, and mean less pain afterward and shorter hospital stays. The diseased valve may be repaired using a ring to support the damaged valve, or the entire valve may be removed and replaced by an artificial valve.
Why do valves get narrow?
Valves can become narrow and stiff from infection (such as rheumatic fever or staph) and aging. If one or more valves become leaky, blood leaks backwards, which means less blood is pumped in the right direction.
What is the job of an anesthesiologist during a heart surgery?
The anesthesiologist will continuously monitor your heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, and blood oxygen level during the surgery . Your doctor will put a breathing tube through your mouth into your lungs and connect you to a ventilator, a machine that will breathe for you during the surgery.
How do surgeons repair valves?
Surgeons can repair the valve by reconnecting valve flaps (leaflets), replacing the cords that support the valve, or removing excess valve tissue so that the leaflets can close tightly. Surgeons may often tighten or reinforce the ring around a valve (annulus) by implanting an artificial ring (annuloplasty band).
What kind of doctor treats mitral valve regurgitation?
A doctor trained in heart disease (cardiologist) will provide your care. If you have mitral valve regurgitation, consider being treated at a medical center with a multidisciplinary team of doctors and medical staff trained and experienced in evaluating and treating heart valve disease.
What is the sound of blood leaking backwards through the mitral valve?
Mitral valve regurgitation usually produces a sound of blood leaking backward through the mitral valve (heart murmur). Your doctor will then decide which tests are needed to make a diagnosis. For testing, you may be referred to a cardiologist.
Can a mitral valve be repaired?
Your mitral valve may need to be repaired or replaced. Doctors may suggest mitral valve repair or replacement even if you aren't experiencing symptoms, as this may prevent complications and improve outcomes. If you need surgery for another heart condition, your doctor may repair or replace the diseased mitral valve at the same time.
Why do people with heart valve disease need medications?
People who are diagnosed with heart valve disease may be prescribed medications to help relieve symptoms and decrease the risk of further problems.
What is the purpose of a valve disease patient?
Purpose for a Valve Disease Patient. ACE inhibitors and ARBs. Vasodilator: Opens blood vessels more fully and can help reduce high blood pressure and slow heart failure. Anti-arrhythmic medications. Helps restore a normal pumping rhythm to the heart. Antibiotics. Can help to prevent the onset of infections.
How to reduce heart workload?
Can reduce the heart's workload by helping the heart beat slower. Some patients find them helpful for reducing palpitations. Diuretics ("water pills") Reduces amount of fluid in the tissues and bloodstream which can lessen the workload on the heart. Vasodilators.
What is the best way to repair a heart valve?
Many surgical approaches can be used to repair or replace heart valves, including open-heart surgery or minimally invasive heart surgery. Your treatment depends on several factors, including your age, your health, the condition of the affected heart valve and the severity of your condition.
How to treat a narrowed heart valve?
Doctors might treat a valve with a narrowed opening with a catheter procedure called a balloon valvuloplasty. A doctor inserts a catheter with a balloon on the tip into an artery in your arm or groin and guides it to the affected valve. The balloon is inflated, which expands the opening of the heart valve.
What is minimally invasive heart surgery?
Minimally invasive heart surgery includes surgery performed using long instruments inserted through one or more small incisions in the chest (thoracoscopic surgery), surgery performed through a small incision in the chest, or surgery performed by a surgeon using the assistance of a robot (robot-assisted heart surgery).
What are the four valves that keep blood flowing in the correct direction?
Heart valve disease involves at least one of the four heart valves not working properly. Heart valves keep blood flowing in the correct direction through your heart. The four valves are the mitral valve, tricuspid valve, pulmonary valve and aortic valve. Each valve has flaps — called leaflets for the mitral and tricuspid valves and cusps for ...
What is a biological valve replacement?
In a biological valve replacement, a biological or tissue valve replaces the damaged valve. In a mechanical valve replacement, a mechanical valve replaces the damaged valve. If your heart valve can't be repaired and a catheter-based procedure is not feasible, the valve might need to be replaced.
How often do heart valve flaps close?
These flaps open and close once during each heartbeat. Valves that don't open or close properly disrupt blood flow through your heart to your body. In heart valve surgery, your surgeon repairs or replaces the affected heart valves.
How long do you stay in the ICU after heart valve surgery?
After the procedure. After your heart valve surgery, you'll generally spend a day or more in the intensive care unit (ICU). You'll be given fluids and medications through intravenous (IV) lines. Other tubes will drain urine from your bladder and fluid and blood from your chest.
How to help someone coming home after drug treatment?
To get the homecoming off to a good start, here are some things that you can do to help someone coming home after spending time in a drug or alcohol treatment facility: Make sure they have a space to call their own . If you are awaiting the arrival of your spouse or partner, this isn’t as much of an issue. If you are waiting for a son, daughter, ...
What is the importance of living with a recovering addict?
Living with a Recovering Addict. As someone who cares for a recovering addict, you are an important part of their recovery plan. They need the support of family members and friends as they learn to live a lifestyle that doesn’t include drugs or alcohol.
What happens if you have a family member who is an alcoholic?
If your family member is an alcoholic, you are going to have to get rid of any alcohol in the house. Even if you only have a bottle of brandy you use to make the family Christmas cake every year, it has to go.
What subjects are offered in a rehab facility?
There are many subjects offered, from academics to cooking, painting, martial arts, soap making, knitting, and various sports. Be supportive as they continue treatment. For someone in recovery, treatment doesn’t stop when they leave the treatment facility.
Can you be cured of addiction when you come home?
When your loved one comes home from a treatment facility, they’re not cured of their addiction, nor will it have gone into remission. It still exists, and your loved one has to deal with it on a daily basis.
Can a relapse occur without a recovery?
A relapse usually doesn’t occur without signs that someone in recovery is starting to slide in that direction. Here are some signs that a person may be starting to head in that direction.
Can addiction go hand in hand with a healthy lifestyle?
Living with an addiction and having a healthy lifestyle don’t usually go hand in hand. It’s common for someone with addiction challenges to neglect their diet, disrupt their sleep cycle and not getting enough physical activity.
Diagnosis
Treatment
- Heart valve disease treatment depends on your symptoms, the severity of the condition, and whether your condition is worsening. A doctor trained in heart disease (cardiologist) will provide your care. Treatment might include monitoring your condition with regular follow-up visits. You might be asked to: 1. Make healthy lifestyle changes 2. Take med...
Clinical Trials
- Explore Mayo Clinic studiestesting new treatments, interventions and tests as a means to prevent, detect, treat or manage this condition.
Lifestyle and Home Remedies
- You'll have regular follow-up appointments with your doctor to monitor your condition. It's a good idea to make several heart-healthy lifestyle changes, including: 1. Eating a heart-healthy diet.Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables, low-fat or fat-free dairy products, poultry, fish, and whole grains. Avoid saturated and trans fats and excess salt and sugar. 2. Maintaining a healthy weight.Aim t…
Coping and Support
- If you have heart valve disease, here are some steps that may help you cope: 1. Take medications as prescribed.Take your medications as directed by your doctor. 2. Get support.Having support from your family and friends can help you cope with your condition. Ask your doctor about support groups that may be helpful. 3. Stay active.It's a good idea to stay physically active. Your …
Preparing For Your Appointment
- If you think you have heart valve disease, make an appointment to see your doctor. Here's some information to help you prepare for your appointment.
Diagnosis
Treatment
Clinical Trials
Lifestyle and Home Remedies
Coping and Support
- If you have mitral valve regurgitation, here are some steps that may help you cope: 1. Take medications as prescribed.Take your medications as directed by your doctor. 2. Get support.Having support from your family and friends can help you cope with your condition. Ask your doctor about support groups that may be helpful. 3. Stay active.It's a good...
Preparing For Your Appointment