Aortic valve regurgitation: symptoms and treatment

What is the aortic valve?
If your heart can be compared to a little room with doors that lead in and out and carry the blood to your body, then the aortic valve is pretty much the main door, attached, as it is, to your heart's main pump. Your heart's main pump pumps blood through the doorway of the aortic valve, and thus sends it to a large artery that leads, ultimately, to all your other arteries. When the aortic valve is functioning properly, the rich, red blood is flowing to where it needs to flow, you feel energetic and alive, your body's working like it's supposed to.
What, then, is aortic valve regurgitation?
Aortic valve regurgitation simply means that your heart's main door has stopped working properly. Remember, when it is working properly it has two basic movements: it opens; and shuts; opens; and shuts. When it opens, blood flows through from the heart's main pump. When it shuts, it's keeping that same blood from creeping back in. Aortic valve regurgitation means that something has happened to the aortic valve, and it no longer shuts as it used to. It's slightly ajar, in other words. It's like a wooden door that's been flooded and soaked in water for too long: the wood swells: and the door no longer opens and closes like it used to.
What happens when I have aortic valve regurgitation, and blood is creeping back into my heart?

Basically, your heart is like any other machine, and operates according to certain rules and regulations. It's a smooth-running, smooth-flowing system, and, like other systems of this kind, it doesn't like surprises. When the aortic valve doesn't shut like it should, blood creeps back in, and suddenly your heart is having to deal with more blood than it's used to. It's having to pump longer, harder, more often, it's rhythm is totally upset.
What are the symptoms of aortic valve regurgitation?
The symptoms of aortic valve regurgitation can be a tricky thing, because it's possible to suffer from the disorder for years and years and not know it. When they begin showing themselves, one common symptom is fatigue. You'll feel tireder than normal, less lively. Other symptoms in include an irregular heart beat, your heart will feel like it's skipping a beat, it'll feel strangely fluttery. More dramatic symptoms include severe heart pain and even fainting.
How is aortic valve regurgitation treated?
Again, since you can have aortic valve regurgitation and not know it, it's important to schedule regular heart check ups with your doctor. If she or he listens to your heart, and perceives that it's beating irregularly, they can move from there and decide just how severe your case of aortic valve regurgitation is. Treatment of aortic valve regurgitation includes medications which will serve to regulate your blood flow and also ease any chest pains you might be feeling. Other treatments will be advice such as not participating as vigorously in sports as you might be used to. Other, more dramatic treatments include surgery, and sometimes your aortic valve will need to be replaced altogether.
How will I know how bad my case is?
For one thing, you'll need to pay close attention to your symptoms: their severity, how many you have, an so forth. For another, regular visits with your doctor, who has access to machinery that can photograph your heart, will give you added insurance of catching the disorder early on. These machines are designed to take photographs of the valves, so that your doctor can measure how much excess blood your heart is dealing with.