Mechanical Heart Valve Prosthesis: Relationship Between Sound Pressure Level and Related Complaints

Background: A primary cause of valvular heart disease in developing countries is rheumatic fever. Mechanical heart valves are used as the mainstay of therapy in developing countries. However, these valves have a distinct sound that is audible to the patient and the people around them, increasing the patient’s complaints in the postoperative period. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study where the sound pressure level of mechanical heart valve sounds, valve sound-related complaints, and the association between them were evaluated in 39 patients. A valve sound questionnaire and a sound level meter were used to characterize these variables and a Pearson’s Chi-square test was used to identify the association between them. The significance level was set at p < 0.05 at a 95% confidence level. Results: Eighty-nine percent of participants could hear the sound coming from their mechanical valves, but only 31% were disturbed by the valve sounds. The mean sound pressure level ± standard deviation of the mechanical heart valve sounds in this study were 24.7dB ± 3.13 at chest level, 20.47dB ± 1.78 at ear level, and 15.37dB ±0.97 at 1 meter. The study did not find a statistically significant difference in the sound pressure level measurements between patients disturbed by the sounds and patients who experienced no disturbance at the various distances recorded. Conclusion: There is no difference in sound pressure level between patients with valve sound-related complaints and those without. Sound pressure levels of mechanical valves do not affect the incidence of valve sound-related complaints.