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Mitral Valve Disease, What Is This? - Dr. Aklog (VIDEO)

By Dr. Lishan Aklog Expert February 11, 2009 - 10:42am
 
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Listen as Dr. Aklog describes mitral valve disease/MVD.

More Videos from Dr. Lishan Aklog 33 videos in this series

Dr. Aklog:

Mitral valve disease simply is abnormal functioning of the mitral valve. The mitral valve is the valve that prevents the blood from going backwards to the lungs when the main chamber, pumping chamber of the heart, squeezes. So the valve needs to open to allow the blood to enter the pumping chamber, and when the heart squeezes, it needs to close to prevent the blood from going backwards.

So a mitral valve can be affected by disease and malfunction in one of two ways. It can be blocked, a process called "stenosis," where the valve simply won’t open properly. It can also not close properly and leak, a process called "regurgitation." So those are the two main categories.

About Dr. Aklog, M.D.:
Dr. Lishan Aklog is the current Director and Chief of Cardiovascular Surgery at The Heart and Lung Institute of St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona and Director of EmpowHer's Medical Advisory Board. Specializing in adult cardiac care, he graduated from Harvard College followed by Harvard Medical School. Dr. Aklog was a cardiothoracic resident at Brigham and Women’s/Boston Children’s Hospital, an Associate Chief of Cardiac Surgery at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, and completed international fellowships in London, England and Paris, France.

View Dr. Aklog Videos:
http://www.empowher.com/users/dr-lishan-aklog

Visit Dr. Aklog at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center

 
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