Identifying heart valve problems

Heart valve problems are usually heard as clicks and murmurs that your doctor distinguishes by listening to different parts of the chest. Depending on the location of the clicks and murmurs, your doctor will be able to determine the specific valve problem(s) and if necessary will confirm this with an echocardiogram.

There are very few differences between some sounds. For example, aortic valve stenosis and mitral valve regurgitation can sound very similar, and they can also mask tricuspid stenosis. As a result, if your doctor hears abnormalities in the heartbeat that sound like valve problems, he or she will probably use a more precise test to identify the exact cause of the noise.

Author:	Robin Parks, MS	Last Updated: March 18, 2008
Medical Review:	E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine Stephen Fort, MD, MRCP, FRCPC - Interventional Cardiology
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