Pulmonary Stenosis (PS)

Pulmonic Stenosis (PS): This is an abnormality of the pulmonary valve (PV), which is the heart valve that opens up into the pulmonary or lung arteries. If the valve is thick, and does not open properly (and therefore, does not get out of the way of blood flowing into the pulmonary artery, not enough of the blue blood can get out in the lungs to pick up oxygen and return to the heart properly. In its mildest form, PS creates a murmur, which is the sound of turbulent blood flowing out of the right ventricle into the pulmonary arteries (PAs). In its most severe form, blood cannot leave the right ventricle to pick up oxygen, and the valve needs to be fixed immediately in the catheterization lab or the operating room.