I06.2: Rheumatic aortic stenosis with insufficiency

Your immune system has attacked your heart. As a result, your aortic valve has narrowed and is leaking.

The heart pumps blood through the body. Inside the heart are 4 chambers. There are 2 heart atria and 2 ventricles. Both heart atria and both ventricles are separated from each other by a partition. There are 4 valves in the heart. These valves ensure that the blood flows in the right direction. So they have to close tightly. They also have to open up fully so that the blood can be properly pumped out of the heart.

The aortic valve is the valve between the left ventricle and the main artery. Your aortic valve is no longer opening and closing properly. If the aortic valve is not opening properly, the blood does not flow as well through the valve. If the aortic valve is not closing properly, blood can also flow back through the valve each time the heart beats. The heart then has to work harder to pump enough blood to the body. You may have various symptoms as a result. The symptoms depend, for example, on how much blood is flowing back through the leaky valve. One may be short of breath, and feel weak or tired. One may also feel dizzy or have chest pain.

In the past you had an infection caused by certain bacteria. You had a sore throat or tonsillitis caused by bacteria. Your immune system fought the bacteria using certain antibodies. However, these antibodies can also attack the body’s tissue. The antibodies have damaged your aortic valve.