Heart valve disease doesn’t always require surgery. Nonsurgical treatments like medications, lifestyle changes, or minimally invasive procedures are sufficient for some people.
Your heart has four valves that help control blood flow. Heart valve disease is when one of these valves doesn’t work properly.
The main types of heart valve disease are:
- Regurgitation: This is when a valve doesn’t close properly, leading to a backflow of blood.
- Stenosis: This is when a valve doesn’t open as it should.
- Atresia: This is when you have a solid piece of tissue where a valve should be. (This is much less common.)
A doctor may recommend nonsurgical options if your heart valve disease is mild or to help minimize your risk of complications while you wait for surgery.
Can you treat heart valve disease with medication?
Medications can help reduce your symptoms, prevent complications, and take the stress off your heart.
Options include :
- Beta-blockers: Beta-blockers block the hormones adrenaline and noradrenaline, which speed up your heart. They can potentially reduce the stress on your heart by slowing it down.
- Diuretics: Diuretics reduce the amount of fluid in your body. Reduced fluid in your bloodstream can lower your blood pressure and reduce the stress on your heart.
- Vasodilators: Vasodilators work by relaxing your blood vessels. This can reduce your blood pressure and the stress on your heart. You may receive angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin II receptor blockers .
- Heart rhythm drugs (antiarrhythmics): Antiarrhythmics treat arrhythmia, or an atypical heartbeat. They may reduce the symptoms of heart valve disease by helping your heart return to its normal rhythm.
- Blood thinners (anticoagulants): People with heart valve disease often have an arrhythmia. Anticoagulants thin your blood and reduce your chance of developing blood clots, which are a complication of some types of arrhythmia, like atrial fibrillation .
- Antibiotics: Heart valve disease is a risk factor for an infection of your heart lining called infective endocarditis . Your doctor may prescribe antibiotics preventatively before you undergo certain dental procedures.
- Prostaglandin: A doctor may prescribe prostaglandins for newborns to help keep pathways in the heart open and improve blood flow.
Potential side effects of medications for heart valve disease
Medications that treat heart valve disease can lead to side effects. Often, side effects become more common at higher doses.
Side effects vary among medications but can include:
Some people may develop more severe side effects, such as:
- serious allergic reactions
- shortness of breath
- chest pain
- serious bleeding (with blood thinners)
It’s worth noting that many people with heart valve disease are taking more than one of these medications, and it can be hard to tell which medication is causing which symptom. Also, not every medication covered above causes every side effect in the list. It’s best to work with a doctor to determine the specific cause of your symptoms.
Heart-healthy lifestyle modifications for heart valve disease
Lifestyle changes alone might be enough to treat minor heart valve disease or help maximize your heart health until you can receive surgical treatment.
Changes you can make include:
- Eating a heart-healthy diet: Making dietary changes , such as minimizing your sugar and unhealthy fat intake, can support your heart health.
- Maintaining a moderate weight: Maintaining or achieving a moderate weight can potentially reduce the levels of fatty molecules in your blood and take the stress off your heart.
- Managing stress: Stress can increase levels of molecules in your blood, such as adrenaline, that speed up your heart rate and make your heart work harder. Lowering your stress can potentially lessen your heart’s workload.
- Getting regular exercise: Regular exercise can help strengthen your heart muscles and help improve blood flow throughout your body. Cardiovascular exercise and activities that raise your heart rate are generally best.
- Quitting or avoiding smoking: Chemicals in tobacco and other types of smoke can damage your blood vessels and increase your risk of atherosclerosis , which is a buildup of plaque in your blood vessels. Quitting can be difficult, but your doctor can create a cessation plan that works for you.
- Sleeping properly: Getting enough quality sleep can improve your body’s ability to heal itself. Poor sleep is associated with an increased chance of obesity and other conditions that raise your risk of heart disease.
What’s the best exercise for a leaky or blocked heart valve?
Many types of cardiovascular exercise can help you improve your heart health. If you’re unsure of how intensely you can safely exercise, it’s best to speak with a doctor about your limits.
The specific type of exercise that’s best for your heart largely depends on your personal preference. As long as it raises your heart rate, it can help strengthen your heart muscles.
Your doctor may recommend avoiding extremely intense exercise, like ultra-endurance running.
Learn more about safe exercises for people with heart valve disease.
Nonsurgical procedures for heart valve disease
Surgeons can use nonsurgical procedures to treat heart valve disease by repairing your valve from within your bloodstream. These are called percutaneous valve procedures.
They involve a surgeon inserting a long, thin tube called a catheter into a vein in your body and threading it through your bloodstream until it reaches your heart. They can then make repairs to your heart valves without needing to make large incisions or open your ribcage.
Your surgeon may repair your valves with:
- clips
- stitches
- clamps
- bands
- implants
- replacement valves
Percutaneous valve procedure side effects
Percutaneous valve procedures are minimally invasive techniques to treat heart valve disease. That said, they do come with some risk of side effects.
These side effects can include but aren’t limited to:
Heart valve disease life expectancy without surgery
Your life expectancy depends on the type and extent of your heart valve disease. Minor problems might never cause complications or shorten your life span, even without surgery. But severe disease might lead to fatal complications without treatment.
In a 2022 study, researchers compared the effectiveness of early aortic valve replacement with conservative treatment in people with severe aortic stenosis without symptoms. They found that early surgery was associated with fewer deaths, heart attacks, strokes, and instances of unplanned hospitalization.
Learn more about life expectancy with heart valve disease with and without surgery.
Who needs surgery for heart valve disease?
Your doctor may recommend heart valve surgery if your condition is causing symptoms or if they think that it could lead to heart damage in the future. Sometimes, heart valve disease can increase pressure in your heart and eventually lead to heart failure.
Takeaway
Mild heart valve disease might be manageable without surgery. Your doctor might recommend lifestyle changes, medications, or nonsurgical procedures.
It’s important to go to all your follow-up appointments with your doctor if you have heart valve disease so that they can monitor whether your condition is changing. They may recommend surgery if your condition seems to be getting worse.
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