Can a leaking heart valve be treated with medicine?

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Question:

Can a leaking heart valve be treated with medicine?

Can a leaking valve be treated with medicine and not necessarily surgery? I have two of them.

submitted by Bev from Langdon, North Dakota on 2/12/2013

Answer:

by Texas Heart Institute cardiologist, Neil E. Strickman, MD

Neil E. Strickman, MD Absolutely yes. Only severe valve problems, either leaking or narrowed, should be considered for operation. A good test to monitor the function of a heart valve is a heart echocardiogram.

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Updated February 2013

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Through this community outreach program, staff members of the Texas Heart Institute (THI) provide educational information related to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cardiovascular disease. It is not the intention of THI to provide specific medical advice, but rather to provide users with information to better understand their health and their diagnosed disorders. Specific medical advice will not be provided and THI urges you to visit a qualified physician for diagnosis and for answers to your questions.

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