Pulmonary valve disease

Hearing you or a loved one may have a heart problem like pulmonary valve disease can be worrisome. At Aurora, we provide care for more people with heart conditions than anyone in the state and offer less invasive treatments – which means less time in the hospital and a faster return to the activities you love.

What is pulmonary valve disease?

The pulmonary valve, located between your heart's lower right heart chamber and the pulmonary artery, delivers blood to your lungs. The blood picks up oxygen in your lungs to deliver it to the rest of your body. With pulmonary valve disease (sometimes called pulmonic valve disease), the valve doesn't work as well as it should, disrupting the blood flow from your heart to your lungs.

Pulmonary valve disease is one of the four heart valve diseases. The others are aortic valve disease, mitral valve disease and tricuspid valve disease.

Understanding the types of pulmonary valve disease

There are three main kinds of pulmonary valve disease:

• Pulmonary regurgitation: This happens when the valve doesn’t close tightly. As the heart pumps, blood leaks back into the right ventricle.
• Pulmonary stenosis: In this condition, the valve is narrowed and slows the blood flow to the lungs to pick up oxygen.
• Pulmonary atresia: This heart defect is congenital. The valve doesn’t form while in the womb and after birth, blood can’t get to the lungs. Find out more about congenital heart disease.

Pulmonary valve disease symptoms

With pulmonary valve disease, symptoms can range from none to mild to severe. Your doctor may hear a heart murmur when they listen to your heart, or you may feel:

• An irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia)
• Chest pain
• Short of breath with activity
• Tired or weak
• Faint or dizzy

Pulmonary valve disease causes

Most often pulmonary valve disease is congenital, meaning you were born with it. Doctors aren’t always sure why the valve doesn’t develop properly in the womb.

Occasionally, certain infections like rheumatic fever, which can happen with an untreated strep throat, can damage the heart valve and lead to pulmonary valve disease.

Pulmonary valve disease diagnosis

Often, pulmonary valve disease is diagnosed during childhood, but sometimes it’s found later when doing tests for other conditions. During your physical exam when your doctor listens to your heart with a stethoscope, they may hear a heart murmur or irregular heartbeat. To identify the exact problem, they may use one or more of these diagnostic tests:

• Echocardiogram
• CT scan or MRI
• Cardiac catheterization
• Electrocardiogram (EKG)

Find out more about our heart and vascular testing and diagnosis.

Pulmonary valve disease treatment

You’re in good hands for treating pulmonary valve disease. Our extensive experience in all kinds of heart valve conditions and less invasive treatment offerings can mean a shorter hospital stay – and a faster and better recovery for you.

Your treatment plan will likely depend on your symptoms and the degree of the condition. We may recommend:

• Monitoring: If your condition is mild with no symptoms, regular visits to carefully monitor any changes may be all that is needed.
• Valve repair or replacement: If your condition is more severe and you’re having symptoms, our expert surgeons will fix the problem through minimally invasive procedures or open-heart surgery if necessary.

Care your heart can trust

At Aurora, our specialized heart center is dedicated to heart valve disease. Here you’ll find a team of highly skilled and experienced specialists, the latest treatments and personalized care for your best heart health.

Look to us for unmatched expertise, the most advanced services and treatments, and the latest in research and clinical trials.