Why called bicuspid valve

Less-severe cases with small aneurysms of 5 cm or less may receive yearly monitoring from a cardiologist instead of surgery, Yang says. Not necessarily. Still, there are factors to consider. People who receive a mechanical valve will need to take blood thinners indefinitely. Risks of infection and stroke are also in play. A bioprosthetic replacement might last only 10 to 15 years before it must be replaced again.

And a repaired bicuspid aortic valve has a risk of a reoccurrence of leaking, which may demand another operation. Heart Health. Kevin Joy. May 30, AM. Yang answered some questions he frequently receives from patients: What causes bicuspid aortic valve disease? How is it diagnosed? This happens in up to 25 percent of first-degree relatives of people with the condition. Men are twice as likely as women to be born with a bicuspid valve. A bicuspid aortic valve is often not symptomatic.

As the valve ages and develops conditions such as stenosis or regurgitation, you may begin to feel the symptoms associated with those conditions. Those symptoms may include:. Even though a bicuspid valve is present at birth, doctors may not diagnose it until you become symptomatic, often in adulthood. If your doctor suspects a bicuspid aortic valve, they will use echocardiography and cardiovascular imaging techniques including:.

If changes occur or symptoms arise, your cardiology team will develop a treatment plan. Approximately 80 percent of people with BAVD eventually require repair or replacement of the aortic valve.

For patients with BAVD and regurgitation, our cardiac surgeons repair the aortic valve. Valve replacement is recommended for bicuspid aortic valve with stenosis. Our team of specialists treats more people with aortic disease than any other center in the area. The Center for Bicuspid Aortic Valve Diseases offers innovative treatments and techniques as well as a personalized care plan for patients with bicuspid aortic valve disease. Read More. Jerry lives a very active lifestyle and a veteran of many marathons and triathlons.

Bicuspid aortic valve is a type of heart disease that you're born with congenital heart disease. The aortic valve separates the left lower heart chamber left ventricle and the body's main artery aorta.

Flaps of tissue cusps on the valve open and close with each heartbeat and make sure blood flows in the right direction.

Usually the aortic valve has three cusps. A bicuspid valve has only two cusps. Rarely, some people are born with an aortic valve that has one cusp unicuspid or four cusps quadricuspid. Most people with a bicuspid aortic valve don't have signs or symptoms of valve disease until they're adults.

However, severe symptoms may occur in infants. Symptoms of a bicuspid aortic valve include chest pain, shortness of breath and difficulty exercising. A bicuspid aortic valve may be discovered when you're having medical tests for another health condition. Your doctor may hear a heart murmur when listening to your heart with a stethoscope.

An echocardiogram is done to confirm a diagnosis of a bicuspid aortic valve. An echocardiogram uses sound waves to create video images of your heart in motion. It can show your doctor the aortic valve, the aorta, the heart chambers and the blood flow through your heart. If you have a bicuspid aortic valve, a computed tomography CT scan is usually done to check for an enlarged aorta.

If you have a bicuspid aortic valve, you will likely be referred to a doctor who specializes in congenital heart disease congenital cardiologist. Children and adults with a bicuspid aortic valve need regular doctor's checkups and echocardiograms to check for leaking regurgitation or stiffening stenosis of the valve or an enlarged aorta. Treatment depends on the extent of heart valve disease.

There are no medications to treat a bicuspid heart valve. However, your doctor may prescribe drugs to treat related heart problems such as high blood pressure.

You may need surgery for aortic valve stenosis, aortic valve regurgitation or an enlarged aorta. In biological valve replacement, a valve made from cow, pig or human heart tissue replaces the damaged valve.

In mechanical valve replacement, a mechanical valve replaces the damaged valve.