Stages
The prognosis of untreated aortic valve stenosis once symptoms have begun is poor, with the average life expectancy of a few years. However surgical treatments can usually halt the natural history of the disease before end stage heart failure has set in.
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Aortic stenosis is one of the most common and serious valve disease problems. Aortic stenosis is a narrowing of the aortic valve opening. Aortic stenosis restricts the blood flow from the left ventricle to the aorta and may also affect the pressure in the left atrium.
As the leaflets become more damaged, the opening of the aortic valve becomes more narrowed and your heart muscle gets weaker. Uncomfortable symptoms such as shortness of breath or fatigue may become more noticeable and can become life-threatening. This is called symptomatic severe aortic stenosis.
Severe aortic valve stenosis prevents your aortic valve leaflets from opening and closing properly (pictured below). This makes your heart work harder to pump blood to the rest of your body. A diseased valve affects your health and limits your daily activities. Some causes of severe aortic stenosis include: Age.
Echocardiography is the main method to assess AS severity. It relies on three parameters, namely the peak velocity (PVel), the mean pressure gradient (MPG) and the aortic valve area (AVA).
What Is the Main Cause of Aortic Stenosis? Aortic stenosis is most commonly caused by calcium buildup on the aortic valve over time. These calcium deposits that often come with age make the valve tissue stiff, narrow, and unyielding.
People may notice symptoms like:Shortness of breath.Chest pain.Fatigue (low energy)Lightheadedness, feeling dizzy, and/or fainting.Difficulty walking short distances.Swollen ankles and feet.Rapid or irregular heartbeat.
Aortic stenosis (AS) occurs when the orifice of the aortic valve is significantly reduced due to the failure of the aortic valve leaflets to open fully during systole. This causes an effective increase in afterload, left ventricular hypertrophy and, eventually, symptoms of congestive heart failure.
An echocardiogram can show your doctor how blood flows through your heart and heart valves. It can help identify a weakened heart muscle and determine the severity of aortic valve stenosis. If your doctor needs a closer look at your aortic valve, a transesophageal echocardiogram may be done.
Aortic valve stenosis is the most common form of valvular heart disease in the elderly population and frequently occurs in conjunction with coronary artery disease (CAD).
Acute severe aortic regurgitation (AR) comes about when there is rapid disruption of the anatomic integrity of the aortic valve. As a consequence, the sudden imposition of a large regurgitant volume leads to a precipitous increase in left ventricular diastolic pressure and a decrease in forward stroke volume.
Aortic stenosis (AS) is the most common valvular heart disease and the third most common cardiovascular disease after hypertension and coronary artery disease in the western world[1]. The prevalence of AS increases from 2% in adults over 65 years to 4% in adults over 85 years of age[2].