Pulmonary Valve Stenosis
and Regurgitation 

Your pulmonary valve controls blood flow between your heart and your lungs. You can develop two problems with this valve—pulmonary valve stenosis and pulmonary valve regurgitation.

• Pulmonary valve stenosis: The pulmonary valve becomes thick and stiff. As a result, it narrows and limits blood flow to your lungs.
• Pulmonary valve regurgitation: This condition is common. It occurs when your pulmonary valve doesn’t close completely each time your heart pumps. This problem allows blood to leak back toward your heart.

Both conditions reduce blood flow to your lungs and damage your heart. Pulmonary valve stenosis makes your heart work harder. Pulmonary valve regurgitation causes your heart’s right ventricle to get bigger. Either condition can lead to heart failure.  

You can develop pulmonary valve stenosis or regurgitation for a variety of reasons.

Pulmonary valve stenosis can be caused by:

• Birth defect (most cases)
• Endocarditis (inflammation of your heart’s inner lining)
• Rheumatic fever (associated with untreated strep throat or scarlet fever)

Pulmonary valve regurgitation may be caused by:

• Birth defect
• Endocarditis
• Genetic disorders, like Marfan syndrome
• Pulmonary hypertension (high blood pressure in your lungs)
• Rheumatic fever 

You may not feel symptoms of early-stage pulmonary valve stenosis or pulmonary valve regurgitation. But you may experience these signs if your condition worsens:

• Bluish tint to your skin (cyanosis)
• Chest pain
• Dizziness
• Fainting
• Fatigue
• Heart palpitations
• Shortness of breath 

To diagnose your condition, our cardiovascular specialists will first conduct a physical exam. They will listen for a heart murmur and look for other visible signs like swelling. Based on what they find, they may suggest other tests.