Heart Valve Disease
Biology: AQA GCSE Higher, topic 2.4.9
Heart Valve Disease
Heart valves can become faulty, either by leaking or being unable to fully open:
Leaky valves
- Leaky valves allow the backflow of blood. This forces your heart to do more work to circulate the same volume of blood.
- This creates a strain on the heart.
Valves that do not fully open
- Valves that do not open fully can obstruct blood flow.
- So, a greater force is required to force the blood through the body.
- This also adds to the strain on the heart.
Fixing faulty valves
- Animal or artificial valves can be inserted to replace faulty valves.
- Although this is less drastic than a heart transplant, this still involves major surgery and problems with blood clots can happen.
Test yourself on Heart Valve Disease
Why does replacing a faulty heart valve still carry serious risks, even though it is less drastic than a heart transplant?
Why does the heart need to work harder when a valve does not open fully?
Why does a leaky heart valve force the heart to work harder?
What is the key difference between how a leaky valve and a valve that does not open fully affect blood flow?