Cardiovascular diseases are sometimes asymptomatic. This is demonstrated by a British study published in the journalEuropean Heart Journal. The results of the examinations showed that more than a quarter of people over the age of 60 in good health suffer from valvular heart disease. Learn more.
Valvulopathy: what are the possible causes?
Valvulopathy is a pathology that affects the heart valves and their functioning. Indeed, the valves of the heart allow blood to circulate properly through the heart, preventing reflux.
Sometimes valvular disease is congenital in origin, but in some cases it results from normal wear and tear of the heart valves. Other heart conditions can cause heart valve disease by scarring or damaging heart tissue, such as:
- articular rheumatism;
- coronary heart disease;
- l’hypertension ;
- a previous heart attack;
- cardiomyopathy…
Valve disease in the elderly: what does science say?
With demographic aging, the presence of asymptomatic valvular heart disease in the global population remains unknown.
British scientists carried out a prospective study between 2007 and 2016 in the United Kingdom. They assessed the heart health of more than 4,000 healthy people over the age of 60,
Patients had no prior indication for transthoracic echocardiography. A total of 5429 people volunteered to participate in the study, of whom 4237 met the inclusion criteria. Valvulopathy was diagnosed in more than 28% of patients. The most common types of heart valve disease were tricuspid (13.8%), mitral (12.8%), and aortic (8.3%) valve regurgitation.
The most common cardiovascular risk factors were hypertension (36.4%), hypercholesterolemia (24.4%), smoking (9.7%), and diabetes mellitus (7.8%).
How to manage asymptomatic valvular disease?
The management of patients who suffer from valvular disease and do not present symptoms remains problematic. However, it is recommended to carry out a ECG (electrocardiogram) in order to detect false asymptomatic symptoms and quantify the increase in blood pressure during exercise, a reliable parameter of hemodynamic tolerance.
Concerning aortic insufficiency, we recall that thetransthoracic ultrasound remains the first-line technique for the evaluation of left ventricular (LV) impact and the detection of frequently associated initial aortic aneurysms.
In the event of insufficient echogenicity, theCardiac MRI is the reference method for calculating left ventricular volumes and ejection fraction.
