Q: When does the need for valve replacement surgery arise in a rheumatic heart disease patient?

A:Valve replacement in rheumatic heart disease is generally required when either the valve gets narrowed beyond a particular level or it starts leaking severely. Certain other factors like patient’s symptoms, heart size, dimensions, function of the left ventricle, pressure of the lungs, thickness of the muscles of the heart, rhythm of the heart, formation of clots within the hearts etc. are also taken into account, when this decision is made.