Which condition represents faulty heart valve disease that can contribute to heart failure?

• A. Atrial fibrillation
• B. Hypertension
• C. Mitral stenosis
• D. Coronary artery disease

Answer: (C)

Faulty heart valves can drive heart failure by causing obstruction or regurgitation that makes the heart work harder and raises pressures in the heart and lungs. Mitral stenosis, a narrowing of the mitral valve, obstructs blood flow from the left atrium into the left ventricle during diastole. This raises left atrial pressure, backs up into the lungs, and leads to pulmonary congestion with reduced forward cardiac output. Over time, this pressure overload can produce left‑sided heart failure and eventually right‑sided failure due to pulmonary hypertension. Among the options, this is the valve disease that can contribute to heart failure. The others are an arrhythmia (atrial fibrillation), systemic hypertension, and coronary artery disease, none of which are valve abnormalities.