Patient was educated on pulmonary valve stenosis and its pathophysiology as follows:
- A normal functioning pulmonary valve opens, when the right ventricle contracts, allowing deoxygenated or venous blood from the right ventricle to be pumped into the pulmonary arteries, to be distributed to the lungs and pulmonary capillaries. The venous blood picks up oxygen here from the lungs, to be pumped to all the vital organs in the body.
- Pulmonary valve stenosis is an abnormal condition of narrowing of the pulmonary valve opening, secondary to inability of the valve to open completely.
- Incomplete opening of the pulmonary valve with narrowing results in restriction of the blood flow from the right ventricle into the pulmonary arteries, when the right ventricle contracts.
- Obstruction to free flow of blood during right ventricle contraction reduces the volume of deoxygenated blood pumped out of the right ventricle into the pulmonary arteries and to the lungs.
- Reduced output of deoxygenated blood from the right ventricle will result in reduced blood volume pumped to the lungs for oxygen pick-up and consequently, reduced volume of oxygenated blood. This will result in compromised oxygen supply to the vital organs, affecting their function. Also, reduced output of blood from left ventricle results in backing up of blood on the left side of heart.
- Backing up of blood on the right side of heart can result in increased blood volume and pressure on the right side of heart. Over a period of time, this increased volume and pressure on right side of heart can result in enlargement of the right side of heart, progressive weakening of the heart muscle, and right heart failure.
