The Aortic Valve
Completed November 17, 2020 as a writing exercise
The aortic valve, a tube on the left side of the heart which connects to the circulatory system, opens and closes to allow blood flow from the heart to the body.
To mimic the process, take one hand and form a circle with your fingertips touching your thumb. A healthy aortic valve will have no blockages or uneven sides when open. Now close the circle by forming a fist with your hand; the valve will easily close and have no gaps.
Typically as people age, aortic stenosis occurs which is the stiffening of the aortic valve and blocks the heart from pumping out blood. To compensate for the resistance of blood flow, the left ventricle enlarges and begins to overwork.
If left untreated, the enlarged left ventricle will no longer adequately pump blood into the body resulting in the left atrium collecting a backup of blood. The left atrium is the upper right chamber of the heart which receives oxygenated blood from the lungs and pumps it to the left side of the heart. As blood continues to back up, the atrium will enlarge and fail to push out the blood. This enlargement results in the shrinking of the aortic valve opening, stiffening of the valve, and the development of scar tissue.
Take both hands and interlock your fingers without your palms touching. Now form a circle with your index finger and thumb. The circle will look uneven and small. With your fingers, try to close the circle once again without your palms touching. Although the circle is smaller, it is unable to close all the way and there is a lot of tension as your hands push together. Aortic stenosis will not allow the valve to close all the way, leaving a large gap in the center.
Since blood is no longer being pumped into the body, a backflow of blood occurs in the lungs. Think of this progress as a rollercoaster going backwards instead of forwards. As blood collects in the lungs, patients will have trouble breathing, and will cough up blood. This can be very deadly as the body is not getting enough blood circulation and forward flow. The lack of blood in the body will cause major organs such as the kidney, liver, and brain to no longer function correctly. Other physical symptoms include edema- the swelling of legs due to the amount of fluid trapped in the body. To treat edema, medical professionals prescribe a loop diuretic to patients which helps release fluids from the body through urination.