Heart Valve Conditions

Advanced Care for Patients With Valvular Disease

Heart valve diseases can cause unpleasant symptoms that disrupt your everyday life. And they can be life-threatening. Our heart valve care team is dedicated to protecting your heart and providing early diagnosis and innovative treatment options.

We’ve been named one of America’s 50 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Surgery™ since 2019 by Healthgrades®. We’re the only hospital in Missouri to achieve this in 2024. And our superior outcomes in heart valve surgery have helped classify us among the top 5% of hospitals nationwide for cardiac surgery.

Some of the heart valve conditions we treat include:

• Aortic regurgitation
• Aortic stenosis
• Mitral regurgitation
• Mitral stenosis

How Heart Valves Become Diseased

Some people are born with heart valve disease, while others develop problems during their lifetime.
The two main heart valve conditions are:

• Stenosis: Narrowing (stenosis) occurs when your valve’s flaps become stiff and thick. Stenosis stops the valve from opening and prevents blood from flowing through the heart.
• Regurgitation: When your valve’s flaps don’t close tight enough, regurgitation happens. When the flap isn’t closing tightly, blood leaks back into the heart chamber it came from.