About heart valve disorders

Learn about heart valve disorders and their causes. 

What is a heart valve disorder?

Your heart has 4 chambers, each with a valve. The blood in your heart flows from chamber to chamber through the valves, then to the rest of your body.

A heart valve does not work properly if it fails to fully open or close. This means that the heart has to work harder to pump blood throughout the body.

The valves open and close to keep blood flowing in the right direction. Each valve is made up of thin but strong flaps of tissue. The valves open and close about 100,000 times each day.

You may have a problem with your heart valves if you:

• are older, such as:
  • men older than 45 years old
  • women older than 55 years old
• were born with flawed heart valves
• have had heart infections, such as rheumatic heart fever and endocarditis, which are heart diseases that involve inflammation of the heart
  • these infections can damage heart tissue, including the valves and tissue on the outside of the heart
  • rheumatic heart fever begins with a bacterial infection in childhood and also affects your joints
    • heart problems may appear years later, and the valves may have to be replaced