Why Do Heart Valves Calcify?

Heart valve calcification is the progressive buildup of calcium deposits on the aortic, mitral, tricuspid or pulmonary valves in the heart. Calcification can take several years to progress to stenosis, which is the stiffening and narrowing of the valve opening. It’s usually at this point that patients see a doctor because of symptoms like shortness of breath, overwhelming fatigue, or palpitations. A diagnosis of aortic stenosis or mitral valve stenosis often leaves some patients stunned, having never had heart problems before, and learning it may require surgery for a valve replacement.

Because it can take a long time to develop into a symptomatic heart problem and ultimately require surgical intervention, we receive a lot of patient questions about valve calcification. The most recent comes from Pamela, who asked, “What causes a heart valve to calcify?”

To answer Pamela’s question, we met with Dr. Marc Gillinov while attending the American Association for Thoracic Surgery Conference in Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Gillinov is the Chairman of Cardiac Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. He is a highly specialized heart surgeon and is always an excellent resource for patient questions.

Video available online at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAbxNyArdL8

Facts About Heart Valves and Why They Calcify

Here are the key insights shared by Dr. Gillinov:

• The process of valve calcification. “That’s a great question, and there may be some talks or presentations here at the meeting about that,” said Dr. Gillinov. “The short answer is we don’t know for sure. As people get older, heart valves can begin to calcify. Your normal heart valve tissue, whether aortic or mitral, is soft and pliable like the skin on your hand, but as some people age, the valve tissue gets very stiff and calcified, like your knuckles, and then the valve doesn’t conform to itself and doesn’t close well.”

• The contributing factors and steps for prevention, “It does not appear to be related to drinking milk or eating ice cream or having calcium supplements, so that’s not the problem. It may be something like the hardening of arteries or atherosclerosis, or maybe inflammation. The short answer right now is we’re not sure, and so we tell people to control the things they can control. Exercise, eat well, watch your weight, et cetera,” Dr. Gillinov said.

Thanks Dr. Gillinov and Cleveland Clinic!

On behalf of all the patients in our community, thank you, Dr. Marc Gillinov, for everything you and your team are doing at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio!

Related links:

• See Dr. Marc Gillinov’s Interactive Surgeon Profile with 100+ Patient Reviews

• Surgeon Q&A: 3 Questions to Ask Before Mitral Valve Surgery with Dr. Marc Gillinov

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. Gillinov below.