Structural heart disease is a problem with tissues or valves of the heart.
There are valves between each of the heart’s pumping chambers and each of the valves have tissue flaps that open and close with each heartbeat. Those flaps make sure blood continues to flow properly throughout the body.
“The valves in the heart are really just pressure tissue if you will. As the presssure in one chamber exceeds the pressur in another chamber, that valve will open up. As the pressure equalizes, the valve will start to come together and as the pressure in the lower chamber starts to increase, the valve will then close. Basically, the valve is supposed to collapse together or meet togehter to create a seal,” Dr. Peter Fail from the Cardiovascular Institute of the South said.
The structural heart program at the Cardiovascular Institute of the South provides minimally-invasize procedures to treat valve disorders and structural heart defects.