What is Congestive Heart Failure Secondary to Valvular disease?
• Congestive heart failure (CHF) is the build-up of fluid due to a heart defect where normally there is none (lungs, chest cavity, and abdominal cavity). CHF can occur for many reasons including cardiomyopathy, myocarditis, toxins, blood clots, congenital defects, pressure overloads, infectious diseases, endocrine diseases, heart worms, valvular defects, etc. One of the more common causes of CHF is caused by a problem or defect with the valves in the heart. These defects can occur in any of the four valves of the heart (aortic valve, pulmonary valve, mitral valve, tricuspid valve). • Normal blood flow goes from the veins to the heart and then to the arteries and back to the veins. The valves in the heart allow blood to flow in only the one direction (toward the arteries) and prevent the blood from flowing backward into other chambers of the heart or into the veins. When there is a problem with the valves of the heart, it causes some of the blood to flow or back-up into the veins. This
