Abstract

Prosthetic heart valve dysfunction can provoke the appearance of symptoms or signs or completely asymptomatic being. A typical symptom of malfunction of the heart valves is the heart failure, with one of its more common symptoms the dyspnea. The substitution of the heart valves with mechanical or biological prosthesis can cause a heart dysfunction. There was carried out a review with the objective to describe the main causes and the handling of the prosthetic heart valve dysfunction. In patient with valve substitution can appear failure, either for intrinsic or extrinsic dysfunction, being these last ones those of more incidence. The handling from the clinical point of view and the medical treatment precocious is fundamental pillars to elevate the patients' quality life. The surgery is generally reserved to patient with recurrence or severe complications.