Dr Mark Kennedy - Private Internal Medicine Specialist

Postal Address

Dr Mark Kennedy
Western Hills Clinic
74 Western Hills Drive
Kensington
Whangarei 0112

Contact Details

Phone (09) 435 4627, or if URGENT, Linda Clinical Nurse Specialist 021 689 447 outside of clinic hours
Mobile Emergency Phone (021) 702 395
Email admin@westernhillsclinic.co.nz
Healthlink EDI: west74hc

For any urgent Echocardiogram, Exercise Stress Echocardiogram or Exercise Tolerance Test, contact  Clinical Nurse Specialist (Linda) on (09) 435 4627 on Tuesday and Thursday (or 021 689 447 outside those days).  If she is unavailable and it is URGENT, call Mark Kennedy on (021) 702 395. We can undertake Transthoracic Echocardiograms most weekdays. 

Heart Valve Disease

Patient information:

The four chambers of your heart receive and send blood to the lungs and body.
Disorders affecting valves can either cause stenosis (a narrowing) or regurgitation (leakage after the valve has closed).  Depending on what valve is involved, and how severe the damage is, it may result in symptoms of heart failure (see above), as it makes the heart pump inefficiently.

Suspicion of a heart valve problem is usually picked up by your doctor when they listen to your heart and hear a heart murmur.  A murmur is heard with the stethoscope and is related to turbulence of blood flow that occurs through a narrowed or leaky valve.  Not all heart murmurs mean serious problems but are best investigated further.

The chest x-ray, echocardiogram and ECG are the main tests to diagnose what valve is involved, the severity of the valve lesion and the effect on the heart. 

Treatment depends on the type and severity of the valve lesion. You may simply be monitored over years to see if anything changes. Some conditions require medication to thin the blood or treat any complicating heart problems. You may be referred to a heart surgeon for consideration of a valve replacement, repair or dilatation of a narrowed valve.

https://www.healthpoint.co.nz/private/internal-medicine/dr-mark-kennedy-private-internal-medicine/