I have had a heart murmur for a number of years. I went to a cardiologist, who explained that I will likely not have a problem for years; however, he also said that I will eventually need a valve replaced. They have told me a few times what causes the murmur, but I can never remember all of the medical terms and names of the valves correctly. Can you review that for me?
Medical terminology can be very confusing. Here is a quick overview of the heart anatomy. There are 4 chambers of the heart: 2 atria and 2 ventricles, the left and right atrium, and the left and right ventricle. The ventricles are the pumping chambers, and the atria help them fill with blood. The right side takes blood that is already depleted of oxygen and nutrients to the lungs to replenish. The left side pumps replenished blood to the body, so the left side is the most critical. There are 2 valves on that side, the aortic and the mitral, which help blood to move forward only. When there is a problem, these valves can become stenotic, and not allow blood to move forward normally. They can also allow blood to leak backwards, both of which cause significant problems.
For a review of heart anatomy, watch this video from VideoMD.com.
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