VIDEO
Understanding Heart Valve Disease
Valve disease
Infection
I am about to undergo valve surgery. Are there any problems associated with valve replacement?
Heart valves can become infected and this is known as bacterial endocarditis (pronounced ‘en-doe-car-dye-tiss’). It can affect replacement valves and your own valves if they are diseased. Infection is not common but it is preventable.
Your teeth and gums must be kept healthy: regular dental check-ups are needed. Bugs can enter the bloodstream via tooth decay while you are chewing. If you are considered a high risk case, any operative procedure that you undergo should be covered by a course of antibiotics to protect the valves – the medical term for this is antibiotic prophylaxis. Special antibiotic preparations are available on prescription. Check with your doctor. Though rare, an infection that damages a valve is very dangerous and only half of infected people survive.
As infection is preventable, this is one of those times when prevention really is life-saving. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) in United Kingdom has declined to recommended antibiotic prophylaxis for people at increased risk of endocarditis when they undergo dental procedures, but emphasised the importance of maintaining good oral health.
I had a valve replacement some months ago. How will I know if I have developed an infection?
Infections develop slowly but you will increasingly notice these symptoms:
- Raised temperature;
- Sweating at night time;
- Feeling more and more ill;
- Weight loss;
- Poor appetite;
- Joint aches and pains.
If you develop any of these symptoms, go straight to your doctor. If the doctor suspects endocarditis, he will send you directly to hospital. When I was in hospital for a valve replacement, one of the patients there had developed an infection. Is infection common?
Is it likely that I shall develop an infection too?
It is not common, but it is preventable. Apart from maintaining oral health, you should avoid tattooing and body piercing. If it is caught early, 50% of people will recover. Therefore, you should always be aware of the possible problems and symptoms. If you develop any of the symptoms discussed above, go straight to your doctor. You can get a credit card-sied warning card from the British Heart Foundation
Having heart disease does not mean the end of an enjoyable, satisfying sex life. For anyone who was previously sexually active, failing to resume sexual enjoyment may cause unnecessary frustration, irritability and marital discord.
This applies to men and women in heterosexual relationships and the gay community. It is a long-standing stable sexual relationship that is important and, if it existed before the heart problem was detected, it should continue afterwards. Casual sex may be more stressful to your heart.
A new relationship developing after heart disease that has been diagnosed in one or both partners should not present problems
