Heart Valve Disease

Diagnosis

Various tests will help to determine the heart valve disease and the degree of its severity. Diagnostic tests may include:

Chest X-ray
An X-ray image of the chest allows the physician to check the patient's heart and lungs for abnormalities. Defective heart valves can cause the affected chambers of the heart to enlarge. With certain heart valve defects or with endocarditis, fluid may be backed up into the lungs.

Blood tests
Blood tests identify markers of an infection, including anemia -- a shortage of healthy red blood cells that can be a sign of endocarditis. The blood sample may be cultured to help identify the bacteria or other microorganism that may be infecting the heart. This enable the physician to prescribe an antibiotic to fight the infection.

Electrocardiogram (ECG)
In this test, patches with wires (electrodes) are attached to the patient's skin to measure the electrical impulses given off by the heart. Impulses are recorded as waves displayed on a monitor or printed on paper. An ECG can give information about the heart's rhythm and heart size.

Holter monitor
A Holter monitor is a portable device that the patient wears to record a continuous ECG, usually for 24 to 72 hours. Holter monitoring is used to detect intermittent heart rhythm irregularities that may accompany certain heart valve defects.

Echocardiogram (Doppler echocardiogram)
This test uses sound waves to produce detailed images of the patient's heart. Through a wandlike device (transducer) held on the patient's chest, sound waves bounce off the heart and are reflected back to produce video images of the heart valves and how they move as the heart beats. The echocardiogram can also be used to measure the heart's blood volume and the speed and direction of blood flow through the heart.

Transesophageal echocardiogram
In this test, a tube with a transducer (sound device) is inserted down the esophagus, the tube that runs from the throat to the stomach. Because the esophagus lies close to the heart, having the transducer placed there provides an even more detailed image of the heart valves and blood flow through the valves.

Exercise tests
Different exercise tests help measure the patient's tolerance for activity and check the heart's response to exertion (exercise).

Electrophysiology (EP)
For patients with irregular heart beats, Mayo Clinic provides electrophysiology assessments, with electrophysiologists and cardiologists trained in the diagnosis and treatment of heart rhythm disorders, including those caused by heart valve defects, and advanced equipment for analysis and recording of heart rhythms.

Cardiac catheterization
In this procedure, a thin tube (catheter) is inserted in a blood vessel in the patient's arm or groin and threaded up to the heart. The catheter is used to deliver dye into the heart chambers and heart blood vessels. The dye, appearing on X-ray images as it moves through the heart, gives physicians detailed information about the heart and heart valves.

Catheters used in cardiac catheterization at Mayo Clinic have miniature devices (sensors) at the tips that can measure pressure within heart chambers.

Diagnostic Imaging Scans

To provide more detailed, three-dimensional images of the heart, a patient may have a scan using:

Computed tomography (CT)
A CT scan uses a series of X-rays to create a detailed image.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
An MRI uses powerful magnets and radio waves to create a detailed image.

Positron emission tomography (PET)
A PET scan involves injecting the body with a small amount of radioactive glucose (tracer), which can be tracked by a special camera (positron) to provide detailed images. Read more about PET scanning at Mayo Clinic.

Mayo Clinic has other tests that use nuclear medicine (radioactive materials) for detailed imaging and advanced analysis of the heart.

These tests can help reveal the cause of a heart valve disease, determine how serious the problem is and whether a heart valve needs to be surgically repaired or replaced.