Somerset — Some five million individuals in the United States have heart valve disease or an abnormal heart valve. Many don’t know they have a problem. Others have been told by their doctors to merely monitor their health until they begin to experience symptoms as a result of the faulty valve.

But medical leaders today are encouraging patients to make sure the problem is fixed before it becomes a bigger problem.

Lake Cumberland Regional Hospial’s cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon, Shahroukh A. Bakhshay is fast becoming one of the most advanced physicians capable of treating patients who need heart valve surgery.

He has already performed several standard valve-replacement surgeries — during which a patient’s valve is replaced with either a metal or tissue valve. Now, however, he’s being trained to perform a high-tech surgery which repairs a patient’s own valve.

Complications from coronary artery disease are the biggest cause of death for Americans today, Dr. Bakhshay says.

Most surgeons perform about four times more coronary bypass surgeries than heart valve surgeries, which indicates that many patients wait until their hearts are damaged to seek help.

Coronary artery disease often begins with heart valve disease — and heart valve disease is very prevalent in the U.S.

“Now there are specialized centers which focus on the surgical treatment of valve disease,” Dr. Bakhshay says.

“A lot of people with valve disease either don’t know they have it, haven’t been to a doctor to find out they have it, or have seen a doctor who doesn’t feel concerned about the disease,” the doctor continues.

“When a doctor sees valve disease, he usually doesn’t think to refer the patient to a heart surgeon.”

But the focus is now shifting to the early detection and early treatment of valve disease.

“The key is to tackle the disease in the early stage of the game; not at the end of the game,” he says.

Waiting until the patient has symptoms greatly reduces the patient’s chances of having successful heart surgery.

“If a patient ignores valve disease, the results are usually not good,” Dr. Bakhshay says.

“There is a greater chance of dying during surgery, or of having a poor outcome following surgery.”

Some patients come through a successful heart surgery, only to survive five years or fewer because their hearts sustained so much damage before surgery, Dr. Bakhshay says.

“When diseased valves are ignored, the heart can become distended, weakened, and damaged,” he says.

“Don’t wait until you have shortness of breath or chest pain. Go while you are still healthy.”

Dr. Bakhshay says a heart murmur, getting out of breath after a short walk, or feeling uncomfortable while lying flat can be indications that there are problems with a heart valve.

“A lot of people ignore these things. They think they’re just getting old or that they’re not getting enough exercise,” he says.

A simple echocardiogram in a physician’s office can determine whether there is a problem.

“You don’t want to watch a person’s heart getting worse before you refer them to surgery,” Bakhshay says.

“Be aggressive. Get it fixed before a normal heart becomes abnormal.” n