Clogged Aortic Valve? Can You Help My Mom?
By Adam Pick on August 29, 2008
Jamie just asked me, “Adam – My mom has been diagnosed with aortic regurgitation. The cardiologist told her that her aortic valve is clogged. As a result of the clog, she is being scheduled for more tests and a potential valve repair or replacement. Does this sound right?”
Hmmmm. I think there may be a mix-up of medical terms your mom’s condition. First, aortic regurgitation can lead to heart valve repair or heart valve replacement. That makes sense. Now, as for the source of that regurgitation, I don’t believe it is because the aortic valve is “clogged”. It sounds like the flaps of your mom’s aortic valve are floppy – thereby creating a blood leak back into the heart.
As for the clog, I don’t know if anything is clogged in the valve. Rather, it sounds like the valve does not open-and-close properly. (That could lead to severe issues for the health of your mother’s heart.)
My gut tells me there may be something else going on here. Perhaps the reference to a clog could relate to a plaque build-up in one of her arteries arteries. As you may know, angioplasty is a procedure done to open a partially blocked blood vessel so that blood can flow through it more easily. It is most often done on arteries that deliver blood to the heart (coronary arteries) when they are narrowed or “clogged” by plaque buildup (atherosclerosis) or blood clots.
You might want to speak with your mom’s cardiologist to further understand her condition and make sure you understand all the details of her diagnosis. I hope this helps explain more about aortic valve regurgitation the reality of clogged aortic valves.
Keep on tickin!
Adam
Written by Adam Pick
- Patient & Website Founder
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Royce says on December 28th, 2009 at 8:06 pm |
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Hi Adam, I have a question regarding symptoms I’m experiencing. I have been fighting this for a long time now. When I eat, I feel in my throat below the adams apple a clogging feeling on the right side of my neck aswell as what appears to be an artery that is clogged which goes up my neck to my right eye. I taste fermented food in my throat which is very unpleasant tastes like rotted sugar and milk like cheese and I am having constipation and urine excretion is difficult(like a very weak feeling). I am also excreting blood from my rectum when pooing. Lately I have felt tired all the time, lack of drive, discomforting warm feeling in my body and chills. Also, I am sleeping about 12 hours/day, and when I awake there is a clogged feeling in my throat like I didn’t get proper breathing during sleep. Please give me any suggestions or ideas of what is happening. Thanks, Royce. |
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