The specific course of treatment depends upon the nature and severity of the valve disease. Some conditions, when mild, may require little treatment besides taking antibiotics before any dental or medical procedures to protect against infection of the heart lining. Other valve abnormalities may require medication and/or surgery. Regardless of the nature and severity of the valve defect, early detection and diagnosis can decrease the potential for significant and sometimes irreversible damage.

Drugs will not cure the underlying disease, but they can minimize symptoms by easing the heart’s workload and regulating the heart rhythm. Medications that may be prescribed include:

In aortic stenosis, researchers have found that statins, a type of cholesterol-reducing drug, are effective in reducing calcium deposits in and around the heart. Early studies show that, while lower cholesterol levels did not have an impact on aortic stenosis, statin therapy slowed its progression. This could be due to its effect on calcium and reducing C-reactive protein and overall inflammation, which has been linked to aortic stenosis.

In more severe cases, medications may not be enough to control long-term symptoms. The main treatment option for correcting heart valve abnormalities is through a surgical interventional procedure, including:

• Heart valve repair or replacement. Using a prosthetic valve – mechanical or tissue (from a pig or cow), defective valves are replaced with healthy ones. This is an open-heart surgery that requires the use of a heart-lung machine. Patients who have received a mechanical valve are at an increased risk of blood clot formation and must take anticoagulants for the rest of their lives. Valves that come from animal donors do not require anticoagulation but wear out more quickly and may require replacement. Therefore, mechanical heart valves are often recommended for younger patients who can withstand anticoagulation and hope to avoid another valve replacement surgery in 10 or 15 years.
  
  Surgeons are also exploring heart valve replacement without the need for open-heart surgery. The new, less invasive procedure, known as percutaneous transcatheter heart valve implantation, involves the use of balloon catheters and large stents introduced through a puncture in the skin in the groin area. The new heart valve is transported via the stent to the site, where the stent is then expanded to implant the valve. For patients who are not able to undergo open-heart surgery, due to age or physical condition, percutaneous heart valve implantation may significantly affect survival and quality of life.
  
  
• Certain minimally invasive heart valve surgeries. This includes robotic visualization surgery. Ongoing studies find that robotic surgery can be performed for some types of valve repairs. Robotic surgery involves voice-activated robotic “hands” at the operating table, with the cardiac surgeon manipulating the hand controls. The surgeon views the procedure through an endoscope, a slim optical tube with an attached camera positioned inside the chest. Advantages of this and similar procedures are small incisions, less surgical trauma and a shorter operative and recovery period.
  
  
• Commissurotomy. The surgeon widens a narrowed valve by cutting or shaving the hard, thick points where the valve leaflets meet.
  
  
• Other surgical replacement of valve(s). Surgeries include the Ross Procedure in which the patient’s pulmonic valve is moved to the aortic position with the pulmonic valve being replaced with a pig valve.
  
  
• Balloon valvuloplasty. A procedure in which a balloon-tipped catheter is used to widen and separate stenotic valve flaps.
  
  

For individuals with asymptomatic aortic stenosis, treatment may only involve monitoring to make sure that the heart's structure and function are not significantly weakened.

In the area of stem cell research, researchers are finding that cells from a patient’s own blood vessels can be “grown” over biological valves taken from pigs or human cadavers. Scientists remove the cells from the biological valve, leaving only elastic tissue that retains the valve’s shape. The patient’s cultured cells are then grown over the elastic tissue. After about one year, the new valve is implanted into the patient. It has been shown that this procedure resulted in fewer post-operative complications (e.g., fever, hospital stay) compared to conventional valve replacement.