Aortic Valve Regurgitation: Medications

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Medications

Treatment for chronic aortic valve regurgitation includes medicines to reduce blood pressure. If you have valve replacement surgery, you will need to take medicines to prevent infection and blood clots around the artificial valve.

If your regurgitation is moderate to severe, your doctor may prescribe the calcium channel blocker nifedipine (such as Procardia), an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or an angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB), or the vasodilator hydralazine. These medicines, which are typically prescribed for high blood pressure, have been shown to slow the progression of aortic valve regurgitation and delay the need for valve replacement surgery.

If aortic valve regurgitation causes chest pain, medicines called nitrates (nitroglycerin) can sometimes be tried to help relieve the pain. Antiarrhythmic medicines may be needed if the regurgitation leads to irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmias). If aortic valve regurgitation causes heart failure, medicines are often used to help the heart pump more effectively. These include digoxin and diuretics.

If your valve is replaced with an artificial heart valve made of plastic, metal, or cloth, you will have to take anticoagulant medicine, such as warfarin (Coumadin, for example), to prevent blood clots for the rest of your life.

If you take warfarin, don't suddenly change your intake of foods that are rich in vitamin K. Vitamin K can interfere with the action of anticoagulants, making it more likely that your blood will clot. For more information, see:

If you have an artificial valve, you may need to take antibiotics before you have certain dental or surgical procedures. The antibiotics help prevent an infection in your heart called endocarditis.

People who have had rheumatic fever may need to take antibiotics for 5 to 10 years after the infection, depending on the damage to the heart.

Anticoagulants: Vitamin K and your diet

Last updated:	January 24, 2008
Author:	Robin Parks, MS
Reviewed By:	E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine, Stephen Fort, MD, MRCP, FRCPC - Interventional Cardiology
Editors:	Kathleen M. Ariss, MS, Pat Truman, MATC