Valvular Heart Disease
| Overview |
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- Diseases of the heart valves can cause major pathophysiological sequelae for the cardiovascular system and often yield heart failure in their end stage. Although a wide variety of etiopathogenic processes can cause valvular disease, we discuss a few selected entities separately below. Whatever the specific etiology, valvular pathologies typically result in two basic types of valvular malfunction: Stenosis, which impairs normal blood flow through the valve orifice, or Regurgitation, which allows inappropriate movement of blood retrogradely through the normally one-way valve. The pathophysiological and clinical sequelae of stenosis and regurgitation are different for each heart valve and are discussed separately.
| Specific Disease Entities |
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| General Pathophysiological Entities |
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- Mitral Valve Disease
- Aortic Valve Disease
- Tricuspid Valve Disease
- Pulmonic Valve Disease