Learning you have structural heart disease brings lots of questions and concerns. How did you get sick? How can you get better? What is structural heart disease?
At UVA Health, you’ll find answers. Whatever type of structural heart disease you have, the experts at UVA Health can help. In fact, U.S. News & World Report recognized 4 of our heart services with the highest possible rating, including our aortic valve surgery care.
What is Structural Heart Disease?
Structural heart disease is a name for a group of diseases that affect the parts that form your heart. This could mean extra tissue, a break, or other defect has damaged your heart’s muscle, walls, or valves. These make your heart work harder to pump blood.
You may be born with a structural heart disease and get treated while still a baby. Or, you could develop one of these diseases as you age.
Structural heart diseases include:
- Atrial septal defect (ASD)
- Heart valve diseases, including aortic valve stenosis and mitral regurgitation
- Left ventricular hypertrophy
- Patent foramen ovale (PFO)
- Ventricular septal defect
What Structural Heart Disease Feels Like
If you have a structural heart disease, you might be feeling lightheaded or short of breath. You could feel tired, dizzy, or faint. You may feel more fatigue than usual.
Or, you might not be having symptoms at all.
Whether or not you have symptoms, don’t ignore your disease. It can lead to your heart condition getting worse with time. Early diagnosis and treatment can prevent issues and improve your quality of life.
Diagnosing Your Heart’s Structural Issues
Treating structural heart disease means first figuring out which one you have. We'll do tests to see how well your heart is working. That might include imaging to look at your heart. The most common imaging is a heart ultrasound called an echocardiogram.
At UVA Health, you’ll find a team of experts with the latest diagnostic tests and tech. Learn more about our heart imaging services.
Structural Heart Disease Treatment at UVA Health
Treatment options for structural heart disease may include:
- Medicine: while not a cure, in some cases, medications can help your heart function better and reduce your symptoms
- Procedures: alternatives to surgery that are easier on your body
- Surgery: can directly repair damage to your heart
Procedures for Structural Heart Disease
For some people, an open-heart surgery might not be the best option. When that’s the case, we may use a procedure that offers a less invasive approach and a quicker recovery.
We use small tubes (called catheters) to send tools through your blood vessels to your heart. We use these tools to fix your heart and improve blood flow. These procedures include:
- Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR)
- MitraClip, or transcatheter mitral valve repair
- Transcatheter valve replacement (mitral, tricuspid, pulmonary)
- Ablation
- PFO closure
- ASD closure
Open-Heart Surgery to Treat Heart Issues
Not everyone is a good fit for a minimally invasive heart procedure. When that’s the case, we may recommend open-heart surgery. We’ve used surgery to treat structural heart disease successfully for many years.
These surgeries might include:
- Myectomy (removes thickened heart muscle)
- Valve replacement
- Valve repair
- Defect closure