Stroke Risk, Blood Pressure Changes & Heart Valve Disease Progression

Patients who have been living with a heart valve problem for many months or years may not recognize when there is a progression in their symptoms as changes can happen slowly over time. Additionally, the cardiovascular system has many interconnected parts that not only affect the heart but other parts of the body. When heart valve disease becomes more advanced, unexpected problems can arise, and patient concerns associated with stroke and blood pressure can elevate.

We received an interesting patient question from Patty related to this topic about how changes in one’s condition relate to the progression of heart valve disease. Patty asked, “Medication has maintained my blood pressure for several years. A sudden drop took place a month ago. My cardiologist paused my blood pressure medication. However, it has remained low for a month or so. My valve is now at a severe stage. Do blood pressure readings have a significant role in determining the progression of heart valve disease? And do these fluctuations increase stroke risk?” To answer Patty’s question, we met with Dr. Patrick McCarthy, the Executive Director of the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago, Illinois. Dr. McCarthy has performed over 10,000 cardiac surgeries during his career and treated over 200 patients in the HeartValveSurgery.com community.

Facts About Changing Blood Pressure, Stroke Risk, and Heart Valve Disease

Here are the key insights shared by Dr. McCarthy:

• Different mechanisms control blood pressure and heart valve function. “Good question,” said Dr. McCarthy. “So, you would think that your blood pressure is controlled by your heart valve, but usually not very much. Usually, it’s a different mechanism that controls your blood pressure. There are conditions like a leaky aortic valve where blood flows backwards through the aortic valve, which may drop the lower number, the diastolic number, on your blood pressure. If you have severe aortic stenosis where the valve doesn’t open very well, blood pressure could potentially drop. With both of those conditions, if they’ve progressed to that phase, then it is time to be thinking about having surgery. If your doctor thinks the blood pressure is related to the heart valve disease, then that is an indication.”

Dr. Patrick McCarthy

• How is blood pressure related to stroke risk? “Can blood pressure changes cause a stroke or contribute to it? It certainly can,” said Dr. McCarthy. “You don’t want your blood pressure too high because that can cause a stroke, where you can have a bleed into the brain. If it’s too low, you may not get perfusion to the brain. Anytime that you’re running a low blood pressure, you need to be carefully assessed.”

Thanks Dr. McCarthy and Northwestern Medicine!

On behalf of all the patients in our community, thank you, Dr. Patrick McCarthy, for everything you and your team are doing at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago, Illinois!

Related links:

• Stroke Risk Reduction for Heart Valve & Atrial Fibrillation Patients
• Ask Dr. McCarthy: Scar Tissue & Minimally-Invasive Heart Valve Reoperations
• Doctor Q&A: What Can Heart Surgery Patients Expect In The Hospital?

Keep on tickin,
Adam

P.S. For the deaf and hard-of-hearing members of our patient community, we have provided a written transcript of our interview with Dr. McCarthy below.