{"id":884,"date":"2009-08-03T08:28:40","date_gmt":"2009-08-03T13:28:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/heart-surgery-blog\/2009\/08\/03\/pictures-aortic-stenosis-picture-mitral-prolapse\/"},"modified":"2025-06-12T02:00:40","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T07:00:40","slug":"pictures-aortic-stenosis-picture-mitral-prolapse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/heart-surgery-blog\/2009\/08\/03\/pictures-aortic-stenosis-picture-mitral-prolapse\/","title":{"rendered":"“Pictures Of Heart Valve Disease?” Asks Ray"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ray just emailed me a great question about heart valve disease.<\/p>\n

He writes, “Adam – Try this one on for size… I’m 57 and newly diagnosed with severe stenosis in my aortic valve<\/a>. The docs think I need surgery soon. I can’t believe it. I feel fine. No real symptoms. But, the echo shows my heart is already dilated somewhat. Even though the cardiologist told me what is wrong… I want to see what is wrong.<\/strong> Do you have any pictures of heart valve disease? Thanks, Ray”<\/p>\n

Like Ray, I experienced a very similar thought upon diagnosis, “What does a diseased heart valve look like?” That said, please find several pictures below to help Ray (and perhaps you) better understand the visual anatomy of several different types of valve disease.<\/p>\n

First, however, I thought you might like to see what a normal heart valve looks like for comparison. Here are two pictures of a normal aortic heart valve.<\/p>\n

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Here is another normal heart valve. As you can see it has three uniques leaflets.<\/div>\n
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\"Normal<\/div>\n

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Below is a picture of a calcified bicuspid aortic valve. The valve cusps are rigid, distorted and deformed. And, the bicuspid aortic valve<\/a> that is severely calcified. (So you know, this was my diagnosis prior to double heart valve surgery.)<\/p>\n

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In this picture of mitral valve prolapse<\/a>, you can see how the two leaflets do not seal properly causing blood to leak backwards.<\/p>\n

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Finally, if you were wondering, “Does calcification of the leaflets impact the mitral valve<\/a>?”<\/p>\n

The answer to that is yes. Here is picture of a mitral valve with severe calcification on the leaflets and annulus.<\/p>\n

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I hope these pictures help you better visualize some of the various forms of heart valve disease. If you have any additional pictures to share, please let me know!<\/p>\n

Related Links:<\/p>\n