Revista de investigación de pediatría clínica

A Note on valvular heart disease and electrophysiology

Paola Giordano

Valvular heart disease (VHD) is frequent is industrialized countries and its prevalence increases with age due to the predominance of degenerative aetiology. Clinical approach is paramount for evaluation of the patient’s history, symptoms and for the detection of VHD by auscultation. Echocardiography plays a major role in diagnosis and assessment of severity and prognosis. Other investigations are mainly non-invasive and include stress testing, multimodality imaging and biomarkers. Risk stratification is essential to weigh the risk of intervention against the expected natural history of VHD