Do You Have Heart Disease?

Do-You-Have-Heart-Valve-Disease-1From the Winter 2012 StayHealthy publication

According to the American Heart Association more than five million people in the United States are a…ected with heart valve disease. For some, the condition will be stable throughout their lifetime, for others heart valve disease may worsen requiring medication, medical procedures or surgery to repair or replace the defective valve.

The good news is that patients in Northwest Indiana who have valve disease do not need to travel far to get the treatment they need. “The Center for Heart Valve Disease at Porter is the only center in the region dedicated to diagnosing and treating valve disease,” said Cardiovascular Surgeon Walid Khabbaz, MD.

We have a team here including echocardiogram technologists who are well trained to provide all of the data needed for our cardiologists to determine the severity of disease. Plus, we have accomplished surgeons and see first-rate outcomes with our surgeries.”

Valve disease can develop before birth (congenital) or it can occur at any point in a person’s lifetime. “Obviously as individuals age, their risk for developing valve disease increases,” said Khabbaz. He said an estimated one in eight people age 75 or older have at least moderate valve disease.

The four valves in the heart act as one-way valves, allowing blood to either flow from chamber to chamber or allowing blood to flow out of the heart in one direction. When a valve doesn’t work properly, it puts a strain on the heart and, if left untreated, heart valve disease can lead to other problems such as arrhythmias, stroke, pulmonary hypertension or heart failure.

Noting that early diagnosis is key in treating and controlling heart valve disease, Khabbaz says that waiting to seek treatment until symptoms are severe may be too late. “What we find is people have valve disease, but they’ve compensated for the symptoms for so long they don’t know how sick they really are.” He said some of the symptoms such as shortness of breath, weakness, tiredness and others can be confused with less serious conditions or with the e…ffects of aging.

It’s also important to identify and treat the other conditions the patient may have that contribute to reduced cardiac function,” Khabbaz explained, listing high cholesterol, high blood pressure, cardiomyopathy and coronary artery disease as being among the most common.

At the Center for Heart Valve Disease, Porter’s patients have access to some of the most advanced diagnostic tools including the 3-dimensional TEE that provides accurate, real time images of the heart from every angle.“In addition to a number of excellent diagnostic tools, we have some very sophisticated treatment options for patients with heart valve disease,” Khabbaz said.


Visit the Porter Health System website
Valparaiso Campus
814 LaPorte Avenue
Valparaiso, IN 46383
Phone: 219-263-4600

Valve Disease: Did you Know?

  • The heart has four valves.
  • Regurgitation is when a valve leaks.
  • Diseases of the mitral and aortic valves are the most common. People with valve disease do not always have symptoms, even if their disease is severe. For these people, a heart murmur (the sound a damaged valve makes) is the most important clue that they have the disease.
  • Shortness of breath, excessive fatigue and fainting, all symptoms of heart valve disease, are not normal parts of aging and should be a cause for concern.
  • A damaged valve can cause the following health problems: enlarged or damaged heart, heart attack, arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat), congestive heart failure, stroke and reduced quality of life .
  • For the most part, patients report feeling like they are “back to normal” after valve surgery and go on to live full and active lives.

To schedule an appointment at the Center for Heart Valve Disease, call 219.263.5483.

To find a physician, visit porterhealth.com or call our physician referral hotline at 1.800.541.1861.