When treated early, that is, before the onset of pulmonary hypertension, a good outcome is possible in patients with Shone’s syndrome. However, other surgical methods can be employed depending upon the patient’s medical background. The single most important determinant of poor outcome during the surgical management of patients with Shone's syndrome is the degree of involvement of the mitral valve and the presence of secondary pulmonary hypertension.

As there is no known cure, Loeys–Dietz syndrome is a lifelong condition. Due to the high risk of death from aortic aneurysm rupture, patients should be followed closely to monitor aneurysm formation, which can then be corrected with interventional radiology or vascular surgery.

Previous research in laboratory mice has suggested that the angiotensin II receptor antagonist losartan, which appears to block TGF-beta activity, can slow or halt the formation of aortic aneurysms in Marfan syndrome. A large clinical trial sponsored by the National Institutes of Health is currently underway to explore the use of losartan to prevent aneurysms in Marfan syndrome patients. Both Marfan syndrome and Loeys–Dietz syndrome are associated with increased TGF-beta signaling in the vessel wall. Therefore, losartan also holds promise for the treatment of Loeys–Dietz syndrome. In those patients in which losartan is not halting the growth of the aorta, irbesartan has been shown to work and is currently also being studied and prescribed for some patients with this condition.

If an increased heart rate is present, atenolol is sometimes prescribed to reduce the heart rate to prevent any extra pressure on the tissue of the aorta. Likewise, strenuous physical activity is discouraged in patients, especially weight lifting and contact sports.

MR Imaging is best suited to evaluate patients with Shone's complex. Routine blood tests should be done prior to cardiac catheterization. The surgeons will repair the mitral valve and al the partial surgical removal of supramitral ring is done. This surgical method is preferred to the valve replacement procedure.

Classifying cardiac lesions in infants is quite difficult, and accurate diagnosis is essential. The diagnosis of Shone’s complex requires an ultrasound of the heart (echocardiogram) and a cardiac catheterization procedure, that is, insertion of a device through blood vessels in the groin to the heart that helps identify heart anatomy.

Currently, there is controversy over whether or not inheritance truly plays a role in FAD, and if so which gene it acts upon. FAD does not come from strictly one predisposing factor, such as hypertension. It is suggested that the combination of environmental factors along with genetics may contribute to causing FAD. Before newer and more effective cures and therapies can be developed, first the specific gene mutation must be identified. Until such a gene is determined, scientists say patient education, and physician awareness is vital. Currently scientists have found animal models to be beneficial in understanding the pathology behind FAD. In the future there is hope to develop drugs that will better support and strengthen the aortic wall. Endovascular methods of treatment are becoming increasingly popular, and scientists hope to use this technique in both acute and chronic cases.

Loeys–Dietz syndrome (LDS) is an autosomal dominant genetic connective tissue disorder. It has features similar to Marfan syndrome and Ehlers–Danlos syndrome. The disorder is marked by aneurysms in the aorta, often in children, and the aorta may also undergo sudden dissection in the weakened layers of the wall of aorta. Aneurysms and dissections also can occur in arteries other than the aorta. Because aneurysms in children tend to rupture early, children are at greater risk for dying if the syndrome is not identified. Surgery to repair aortic aneurysms is essential for treatment.

There are four types of the syndrome, labelled types I through IV, which are distinguished by their genetic cause. Type 1, Type 2, Type 3, and Type 4 are caused by mutations in "TGFBR1", "TGFBR2", "SMAD3", and "TGFB2" respectively. These four genes encoding transforming growth factors play a role in cell signaling that promotes growth and development of the body's tissues. Mutations of these genes cause production of proteins without function. Although the disorder has an autosomal pattern of inheritance, this disorder results from a new gene mutation in 75% of cases and occurs in people with no history of the disorder in their family.

Loeys-Dietz syndrome was identified and characterized by pediatric geneticists Bart Loeys and Harry Dietz at Johns Hopkins University in 2005.

The following table includes the main types of valvular stenosis and regurgitation. Major types of valvular heart disease not included in the table include mitral valve prolapse, rheumatic heart disease and endocarditis.

Quadricuspid aortic valves are very rare cardiac valvular anomalies with a prevalence of 0.013% to 0.043% of cardiac cases and a prevalence of 1 in 6000 patients that undertake aortic valve surgery. There is a slight male predominance in all of the cases, and the mean age is 50.7.

Elevated prevalence of cardiac fibrosis and related valvopathies was found to be associated with use of a number of unrelated drugs following long-term statistical analysis once the drugs had been on the market for some time. The cause of this was unknown at the time, but eventually it was realised that all the implicated drugs acted as agonists at 5-HT receptors in the heart in addition to their intended sites of action elsewhere in the body.

The precise mechanisms involved remain elusive however, as while the cardiotoxicity shows some dose-response relationship, it does not always develop, and consistent daily use over an extended period tends to be most strongly predictive of development of valvopathy.

The drugs most classically associated with the condition are weight loss drugs such as fenfluramine and chlorphentermine, and antiparkinson drugs such as pergolide and cabergoline, which are prescribed to be taken several times a day, often for months or years at a time.

Drugs which act as 5-HT agonists tend to be less likely to cause heart problems when used sparingly.

The heart valve changes seen with moderate and intermittent use can result in permanent damage and life-threatening heart problems if use of the causative drug is increased or continued, however longitudinal studies of former patients suggest that the damage will heal over time to some extent at least.

Medical therapy of aneurysm of the aortic sinus includes blood pressure control through the use of drugs, such as beta blockers.

Another approach is surgical repair. The determination to perform surgery is usually based upon the diameter of the aortic root (with 5 centimeters being a rule of thumb - a normal size is 2-3 centimeters) and the rate of increase in its size (as determined through repeated echocardiography).

A 2007 study followed 112 individuals for a mean of 12 years (mean age 25.3, range 12–71). No patient died during follow-up, but several required medical interventions. The mean final heights were 167 and 153 cm for men and women, respectively, which is approximately 2 standard deviations below normal.

Type 1 and Type 2 FAD call for the same treatment: immediate surgery to replace the aorta. Surgery is required due to the high risk of mortality. Type 3 is less severe and requires the maintenance of blood pressure through diet and exercise. Upon diagnosing someone with FAD intravenous antihypertensive treatment is frequently used. Often intravenous sodium nitroprusside is used for its efficiency in lessening the pulsatile load thus reducing blood pressure. Reducing this force slows the progression of the dissection. Surgical success depends on age, severity of symptoms, postoperative organ dysfunction and stroke. Surgical intervention is always indicated in Type 1 cases. Aortic surgery is palliative, not curative. The goal is to merely to prevent rupture, restore blood flow, and fix any aortic valve dysfunction. Post operative protocols include frequent monitoring of the aorta diameter. Statins and beta blockers are also popular treatments used to reduce future plaque build up and blockage of epinephrine receptors as a way to control heart rate and blood pressure.

Long term treatment should also include regular check ups every 3 to 6 months. A CT scan or MRI is recommended, along with required chest x-rays. Antihypertensive therapy with beta adrenergic antagonists is required regardless of medical versus surgical treatment. Ten to twenty percent of those who choose surgical intervention are re-operated on due to compression, aneurysm development or blood leakage.

Some appetite suppressant drugs such as fenfluramine (which in combination with phentermine was marketed as "Pondimin" and commonly referred to as fen-phen), chlorphentermine, and aminorex (along with its analogue 4-Methylaminorex which has seen sporadic use as a recreational drug) induce a similar pattern of cardiac fibrosis (and pulmonary hypertension), apparently by over-stimulating 5HT receptors on the cardiac fibroblast cells.

These drugs consequently tend to cause increased risk of heart valve damage and subsequent heart failure, which eventually led to them being withdrawn from the market.

Many factors influence the time course and extent of remodeling, including the severity of the injury, secondary events (recurrent ischemia or infarction), neurohormonal activation, genetic factors and gene expression, and treatment. Medications may attenuate remodeling. Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors have been consistently shown to decrease remodeling in animal models or transmural infarction and chronic pressure overload. Clinical trials have shown that ACE inhibitor therapy after myocardial infarction leads to improved myocardial performance, improved ejection fraction, and decreased mortality compared to patients treated with placebo. Likewise, inhibition of aldosterone, either directly or indirectly, leads to improvement in remodeling. Carvedilol, a 3rd generation beta blocker, may actually reverse the remodeling process by reducing left ventricular volumes and improving systolic function. Early correction of congenital heart defects, if appropriate, may prevent remodeling, as will treatment of chronic hypertension or valvular heart disease. Often, reverse remodeling, or improvement in left ventricular function, will also be seen.

Individuals with MVP are at higher risk of bacterial infection of the heart, called infective endocarditis. This risk is approximately three- to eightfold the risk of infective endocarditis in the general population. Until 2007, the American Heart Association recommended prescribing antibiotics before invasive procedures, including those in dental surgery. Thereafter, they concluded that "prophylaxis for dental procedures should be recommended only for patients with underlying cardiac conditions associated with the highest risk of adverse outcome from infective endocarditis."

Many organisms responsible for endocarditis are slow-growing and may not be easily identified on routine blood cultures (these fastidious organisms require special culture media to grow). These include the HACEK organisms, which are part of the normal oropharyngeal flora and are responsible for perhaps 5 to 10% of infective endocarditis affecting native valves. It is important when considering endocarditis to keep these organisms in mind.

The risk of death in individuals with aortic insufficiency, dilated ventricle, normal ejection fraction who are asymptomatic is about 0.2 percent per year. Risk increases if the ejection fraction decreases or if the individual develops symptoms.

Individuals with chronic (severe) aortic regurgitation follow a course that once symptoms appear, surgical intervention is needed. AI is fatal in 10 to 20% of individuals who do not undergo surgery for this condition. Left ventricle dysfunction determines to an extent the outlook for severity of aortic regurgitation cases.

The risk for untreated LQTS patients having events (syncopes or cardiac arrest) can be predicted from their genotype (LQT1-8), gender, and corrected QT interval.

- High risk (> 50%) - QTc > 500 ms, LQT1, LQT2, and LQT3 (males)

- Intermediate risk (30-50%) - QTc > 500 ms, LQT3 (females) or QTc < 500 ms, LQT2 (females) and LQT3

- Low risk (< 30%) - QTc < 500 ms, LQT1 and LQT2 (males)

A 1992 study reported that mortality for symptomatic, untreated patients was 20% within the first year and 50% within the first 10 years after the initial syncope.

A surgical treatment for AI is aortic valve replacement; this is currently an open-heart procedure. In the case of severe "acute" aortic insufficiency, all individuals should undergo surgery, if there are no absolute contraindications (for surgery). Individuals with bacteremia with aortic valve endocarditis should not wait for treatment with antibiotics to take effect, given the high mortality associated with the acute AI. Replacement with an aortic valve homograft should be performed if feasible.

Inflammation of the heart valves due to any cause is called valvular endocarditis; this is usually due to bacterial infection but may also be due to cancer (marantic endocarditis), certain autoimmune conditions (Libman-Sacks endocarditis, seen in systemic lupus erythematosus) and hypereosinophilic syndrome (Loeffler endocarditis). Certain medications have been associated with valvular heart disease, most prominently ergotamine derivatives pergolide and cabergoline.

Valvular heart disease resulting from rheumatic fever is referred to as "rheumatic heart disease". Damage to the heart valves follows infection with beta-hemolytic bacteria, such as typically of the respiratory tract. Pathogenesis is dependent on cross reaction of M proteins produced by bacteria with the myocardium. This results in generalized inflammation in the heart, this manifests in the mitral valve as vegetations, and thickening or fusion of the leaflets, leading to a severely compromised buttonhole valve.

Rheumatic heart disease typically only involves the mitral valve (70% of cases), though in some cases the aortic and mitral valves are both involved (25%). Involvement of other heart valves without damage to the mitral are exceedingly rare.

While developed countries once had a significant burden of rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease, medical advances and improved social conditions have dramatically reduced their incidence. Many developing countries, as well as indigenous populations within developed countries, still carry a significant burden of rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease and there has been a resurgence in efforts to eradicate the diseases in these populations.

While Larsen syndrome can be lethal if untreated, the prognosis is relatively good if individuals are treated with orthopedic surgery, physical therapy, and other procedures used to treat the symptoms linked with Larsen syndrome.

Indications for surgery for chronic MI include signs of left ventricular dysfunction with ejection fraction less than 60%, severe pulmonary hypertension with pulmonary artery systolic pressure greater than 50 mmHg at rest or 60 mmHg during activity, and new onset atrial fibrillation.

JLNS patients with "KCNQ1" mutations are particularly prone to pathological lengthening of the QT interval, which predisposes them to episodes of "torsades de pointes" and sudden cardiac death. In this context, if the patient has had syncopal episodes or history of cardiac arrest, an implantable cardiac defibrillator should be used in addition to a beta blocker such as propranolol.

Treatment for Larsen syndrome varies according to the symptoms of the individual. Orthopedic surgery can be performed to correct the serious joint defects associated with Larsen syndrome. Reconstructive surgery can be used to treat the facial abnormalities. Cervical kyphosis can be very dangerous to an individual because it can cause the vertebrae to disturb the spinal cord. Posterior cervical arthrodesis has been performed on patients with cervical kyphosis, and the results have been successful Propranolol has been used to treat some of the cardiac defects associated with Marfan's syndrome, so the drug also has been suggested to treat cardiac defects associated with Larsen syndrome.

The key for managing Sack–Barabas syndrome is for the patient to be aware of their disease. Close follow up and planning of interventions can significantly prolong and maintain the quality of life of a patient with this disease.

Pregnant affected women must take special care due to the increased risk of premature death due to rupture of arteries, bowel or uterine rupture with a reported mortality rate of 50%.

Genetic counselling is recommended for prospective parents with a family history of Ehlers–Danlos syndrome. Affected parents should be aware of the type of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome they have and its mode of inheritance.

Annuloaortic ectasia is a dilation of the proximal ascending aorta and aortic annulus. It may cause aortic regurgitation, thoracic aortic dissection, aneurysm and rupture. It is often associated with connective tissue diseases like Marfan syndrome and Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. It can also be a complication due to tertiary syphilis. In tertiary syphilis the aortic root becomes so dilated that the aortic valve becomes incompetent and cor bovinum results.

The term was first coined by the American heart surgeon Denton Cooley in 1961.

The treatment of mitral insufficiency depends on the acuteness of the disease and whether there are associated signs of hemodynamic compromise.

In acute MI secondary to a mechanical defect in the heart (i.e., rupture of a papillary muscle or chordae tendineae), the treatment of choice is mitral valve surgery. If the patient is hypotensive prior to the surgical procedure, an intra-aortic balloon pump may be placed in order to improve perfusion of the organs and to decrease the degree of MI.

If the individual with acute MI is normotensive, vasodilators may be of use to decrease the afterload seen by the left ventricle and thereby decrease the regurgitant fraction. The vasodilator most commonly used is nitroprusside.

Individuals with chronic MI can be treated with vasodilators as well to decrease afterload. In the chronic state, the most commonly used agents are ACE inhibitors and hydralazine. Studies have shown that the use of ACE inhibitors and hydralazine can delay surgical treatment of mitral insufficiency. The current guidelines for treatment of MI limit the use of vasodilators to individuals with hypertension, however. Any hypertension is treated aggressively, e.g. by diuretics and a low-sodium diet. In both hypertensive and normotensive cases, digoxin and antiarrhythmics are also indicated. Also, chronic anticoagulation is given where there is concomitant mitral valve prolapse or atrial fibrillation. In general, medical therapy is non-curative and is used for mild-to-moderate regurgitation or in patients unable to tolerate surgery.

Surgery is curative of mitral valve regurgitation. There are two surgical options for the treatment of MI: mitral valve replacement and mitral valve repair. Mitral valve repair is preferred to mitral valve replacement where a repair is feasible as bioprosthetic replacement valves have a limited lifespan of 10 to 15 years, whereas synthetic replacement valves require ongoing use of blood thinners to reduce the risk of stroke. There are two general categories of approaches to mitral valve repair: Resection of the prolapsed valvular segment (sometimes referred to as the 'Carpentier' approach), and installation of artificial chordae to "anchor" the prolapsed segment to the papillary muscle (sometimes referred to as the 'David' approach). With the resection approach, any prolapsing tissue is resected, in effect removing the hole through which the blood is leaking. In the artificial chordae approach, ePTFE (expanded polytetrafluoroethylene, or Gore-Tex) sutures are used to replace the broken or stretched chordae tendonae, bringing the natural tissue back into the physiological position, thus restoring the natural anatomy of the valve. With both techniques, an annuloplasty ring is typically secured to the annulus, or opening of the mitral valve, to provide additional structural support. In some cases, the "double orifice" (or 'Alfieri') technique for mitral valve repair, the opening of the mitral valve is sewn closed in the middle, leaving the two ends still able to open. This ensures that the mitral valve closes when the left ventricle pumps blood, yet allows the mitral valve to open at the two ends to fill the left ventricle with blood before it pumps. In general, mitral valve surgery requires "open-heart" surgery in which the heart is arrested and the patient is placed on a heart-lung machine (cardiopulmonary bypass). This allows the complex surgery to proceed in a still environment.

Due to the physiological stress associated with open-heart surgery, elderly and very sick patients may be subject to increased risk, and may not be candidates for this type of surgery. As a consequence, there are attempts to identify means of correcting MI on a beating heart. The Alfieri technique for instance, has been replicated using a percutaneous catheter technique, which installs a "MitraClip" device to hold the middle of the mitral valve closed.