Heart Valve Disease: Diagnosis

Your primary care provider may detect a heart murmur or other signs of heart valve disease. However, a cardiologist will usually diagnose the condition. To diagnose heart valve disease, your doctor will ask about your symptoms. He or she also will do a physical exam and look at the results of medical tests and imaging.

Some of these tests, in addition to the physical examination, may include:

• Electrocardiogram, a simple test that detects and records the electrical activity of your heart. It can detect an irregular heartbeat and signs of a previous heart attack. It can also show whether certain chambers of your heart are enlarged.

• Chest X Ray, which can show whether certain sections of your heart are enlarged, whether you have fluid in your lungs, or whether there are calcium deposits in your heart. This test helps your doctor learn which type of valve defect you have, how severe it is, and whether you have any other heart problems. 

• Echocardiography, a test using sound waves to create a moving picture of your heart as it beats. 

• Cardiac Catheterization. For this procedure, a long, thin, flexible tube called a catheter is put into a blood vessel in your arm, upper thigh (groin), or neck and threaded into your heart, guided by x-ray images. Through the catheter, your doctor does diagnostic tests and imaging that show whether backflow is occurring through a valve and how fully the valve opens.

• Stress Test, during which you exercise to make your heart work hard and beat fast while heart tests and imaging are done. 

• Cardiac MRI, which uses a powerful magnet and radio waves to make detailed images of your heart.

This information has been adapted from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute.