Most cases of valvular heart disease can be detected with a stethoscope. The abnormal blood flow often produces a sound called a heart "murmur". Not all murmurs are abnormal, nor do they necessarily indicate heart disease, but the trained ear can often tell a lot about valvular problems just with this simple device. For more about murmurs, read the section below.
The electrocardiogram is simply a representation of the electrical activity of the heart, and may show nothing at all about valvular problems, particularly in early or minor stages.
The chest x-ray, a relatively unsophisticated tool, can provide valuable information about the heart chambers and whether there is any evidence of congestive heart failure or other conditions.
An echocardiogram is a very valuable tool for evaluation of valvular heart disease. This is a non-invasive means of visualizing the heart muscle and valves using sound waves, or sonar. The valves can usually be visualized quite well, and the degree of leakage or stenosis can be estimated, in many cases with a high degree of accuracy.
Cardiac catheterization is sometimes needed to fully evaluate the heart valves, heart muscle, and heart arteries in some circumstances. Using this more "invasive" procedure, highly accurate information can be obtained.
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