Mitral Valve Stenosis
Cause
Nearly all cases of mitral valve stenosis are caused by Reference rheumatic fever, which can follow an untreated Reference strep throat Opens New Window infection. But many people who have mitral valve stenosis don't realize that they had rheumatic fever.
Other less common causes include:
- A congenital (from birth) heart defect.
- Infection of the valve or heart muscle (Reference endocarditis Opens New Window).
- Hardening of the valve or its parts because of aging or severe kidney disease.
- Conditions that cause scarring of the valve (such as Reference lupus Opens New Window or Reference rheumatoid arthritis Opens New Window).
- The diet medicine fen-phen. It was taken off the U.S. market in 1997 because of its link to heart valve disease.
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