Mitral stenosis is the thickening and calcification of the mitral valve, which causes the opening to narrow, allowing blood to pass from the artery to the ventricle. The mitral valve, also known as a bicuspid valve, is a heart structure that separates the left atrium from the left ventricle.
Depending on the degree of thickening and therefore the size of the blood passage hole, mitral stenosis can be categorized as:
- Symptoms usually begin to appear when stenosis is moderate or severe.
- As blood passage begins to become difficult.
- Causing shortness of breath.
- Easy fatigue.
- And chest pain.
- For example.
- Requiring a visit to the cardiologist to confirm diagnosis and initiation of treatment.
Mitral stenosis usually shows no symptoms, however, some may develop after physical exertion, such as:
In addition, the person may feel their own blows and spit blood if the vein or capillaries of the lung rupture.Learn about the main causes of a cough with blood.
The main cause of mitral stenosis is acute rheumatoid arthritis, which is a disease caused mainly by the Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria, which in addition to causing inflammation of the throat, causes the production of autoantibodies by the immune system, resulting in inflammation of the joints. and possibly changes in the structure of the heart. Learn how to identify and treat acute rheumatoid arthritis.
Less often, mitral stenosis is congenital, i.e. born with the baby and can be identified in tests done shortly after birth. Other causes of mitral stenosis that are rarer than congenital stenosis are: disseminated lupus erythematosia, rheumatoid arthritis, Fabry’s disease, Whipple disease.disease, amylosis and heart tumor.
Diagnosis is made by the cardiologist by analyzing the symptomatology described by the patient, in addition to performing certain tests, such as chest x-ray, electrocardiogram and echocardiogram, see what it is for and how the echocardiogram is done.
In addition, in the case of congenital mitral stenosis, your doctor may make the diagnosis from heart auscultation, in which a heart murmur characteristic of the disease may be heard. Learn how to identify your heart murmur.
The treatment of mitral stenosis is performed on the recommendation of the cardiologist, with individualized doses of medication indicated according to the needs of the patient, the treatment is usually done with the use of beta blockers, calcium antagonists, diuretics and anticoagulants, which allow the proper functioning of the heart., relieve symptoms and prevent complications.
In the most severe cases of mitral stenosis, cardiologists may recommend surgery to repair or replace the mitral valve.Learn about postoperative surgery and recovery from heart surgery.
As in mitral stenosis, the passage of blood from the atrium to the ventricle is difficult, the left ventricle is saved and remains at its normal size; However, as there is a strong buildup of blood at left rest, this cavity tends to increase in size, which can facilitate the development of cardiac arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation, for example.In these cases, the patient may need to use oral anticoagulants to reduce the risk of stroke.
Also, because the left atrium carrying blood is received from the lung, if there is a buildup of blood at left rest, the lung will have difficulty sending blood to the heart.As a result, the lung eventually accumulates a lot of blood and, as a result, can soak, resulting in acute pulmonary edema.Learn more about acute pulmonary edema.