Medical Forum’s Clinical Director, Dr Joe Kosterich, caught up with clinical cardiologist Professor David Playford to discuss the prevalence, prevention, and treatment of Australian heart valve disease – a leading cause of mortality.
“Heart valve disease can mean any valve disease, including aortic stenosis, aortic regurgitation, mitral stenosis, mitral regurgitation, tricuspid valve disease and pulmonary valve disease,” Prof Playford highlighted.
“There is no single symptom that is unique to any particular heart disease, including heart valve diseases, but the most common symptom is breathlessness. The most important point though, is that most heart valve disease is asymptomatic particularly in the early stages, and only becomes symptomatic late in the course of the disease. We don’t want to wait until symptoms occur before we identify heart valve diseases.”
“Early diagnosis using echocardiography is critical to prevent heart failure or potential death, and so we recommend regular auscultation in older Australians at least once a year. Our research found that most patients have surprisingly low understanding of heart valve disease and don’t see it as a health concern. This means that GPs need to have a high index of suspicion, listen to the heart regularly, and refer patients with a murmur for investigation.”
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