Medical Community Places High Priority On Raising Awareness About Heart Valve Disease, The Baltimore Times

Medical experts say heart valve disease affects at least five million Americans, but three in four U.S. adults know little about the illness, which is treatable but can be deadly. They say warning signs are key to detection.

“Symptoms are often unrecognized at first and tend to be rather nondescript. Since it tends to affect people as they get older, they might not think of much of mild fatigue or shortness of breath,” said Dr. Eric Sarin, co-director of the Inova Structural Heart Program at Inova Heart and Vascular Institute in Fairfax, Virginia. “Patients will often think the symptoms are part of ‘getting older’ and it’s only with the benefit of hindsight after they have been treated that they can realize how limited they were by their valve disease.”

Sarin will be featured at a February 22 heart valve awareness event at the Inova Heart and Vascular Institute. Susan Peschin, the president and CEO of the Alliance for Aging Research, is also scheduled to appear at the 9 a.m. event.

Warning signs of heart valve disease typically begin with shortness of breath and fatigue that weren’t usually present during daily activities.

“As it progresses, the symptoms will become more pronounced and the patient will notice a significant change in their stamina and physical capability. At its most severe, patients may have chest pain, fainting spells, or leg swelling and fluid overload related to heart failure,” he said. Read more.