“What Do Calcified Heart Valves Look Like?” Asks Tanya
July 6th, 2010I just received an interesting question from Tanya about calcified heart valve leaflets.
Tanya writes, “Dear Adam – I am hoping you can help me better understand my diagnosis of mitral stenosis. The doctor mentioned that I am moderate-to-severe and could be facing surgery soon. The cardiologist also said that my valve may be calcified. I’m curious…. Do you have any pictures of a calcified valve? Thanks! Tanya”
Calcified Mitral Valve
Like Tanya, I also wanted to know what a calcified heart valve looked like when I was diagnosed with aortic stenosis – prior to my heart valve replacement surgery.
That said, I did locate the following pictures of a mitral valve and an aortic valve that are both calcified.
The above picture shows a mitral valve in which the 2 mitral valve leaflets are severely calcified. The picture below shows an aortic valve in which all 3 leaflets are calcified.
Calcified Aortic Valve
I hope this helps Tanya (and all of us) learn a little bit more about heart valves that suffer from calcified leaflets.
Keep on tickin!
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| About The Author: Adam Pick is a double, heart valve surgery patient and author of The Patient's Guide To Heart Valve Surgery. This unique book integrates clinical research with the personal experiences of 135 former patients to help future patients and their caregivers better understand the problems, the opportunities and the realities of heart valve surgery. To learn more about Adam and his heart valve surgery book, click here. |
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