Aortic stenosis what is it

It also creates high blood pressure inside the left ventricle. In response to the extra workload, the muscle of the left ventricle thickens concentric hypertrophy and the chamber itself may eventually balloon out. Aortic stenosis may have no symptoms be asymptomatic for many years. In people born with a valve abnormality, aortic stenosis can sometimes develop and is often diagnosed in teenage years.

Symptoms may also appear later in ife after decades of gradual progressive narrowing of the aortic valve. The onset of symptoms may be gradual or abrupt and may include:. Aortic stenosis can be a serious and potentially life-threatening condition. Some of the possible complications include:.

If the aortic valve is too damaged to be repaired, it may be surgically replaced with an artificial or tissue valve. This is known as aortic valve replacement. This is known as a pulmonary autograft or Ross operation. TAVI is a procedure that involves a new valve being inserted without the need for open heart surgery. It can also be known as transcatheter aortic valve replacement TAVR. When performing balloon valvuloplasty, a catheter is inserted into a blood vessel in the groin and threaded up to the heart.

The tip of the catheter is placed inside the aortic valve and then a balloon is inflated. This helps to stretch and widen the valve and improve blood flow into the aorta.

This procedure is usually used as a temporary measure or to relieve symptoms when other options are not available. This page has been produced in consultation with and approved by:.

Healthy eating and lifestyle changes can help to manage high blood pressure. Hypertension, or high blood pressure, can increase your risk of heart attack, kidney failure and stroke. In addition to the symptoms of aortic stenosis, which may cause a patient to feel faint, weak, or lethargic, the wall of the left ventricle also may show muscular thickening because the ventricle must work harder to pump blood through the narrow valve opening into the aorta.

The thickened wall takes up more space inside the lower heart chamber that allows less room for an adequate amount of blood to be supplied to the body. This may lead to heart failure. Appropriate treatment can help reverse or slow down the progress of this disease.

Aortic stenosis mainly affects older people as a result of scarring and calcium buildup in the valve cusp flap or fold. The most common cause of aortic stenosis in young people is a birth defect where only two cusps grow instead of the normal three. Another cause may be that the valve opening doesn't grow along with the heart.

This makes the heart work harder to pump blood to the restricted opening. Over the years the defective valve often becomes stiff and narrow because of calcium build-up.

If there are no symptoms or if symptoms are mild, the best course of action could be regular follow up and monitoring to see if any symptoms develop or worsen. However, anyone with aortic stenosis should be checked with an echocardiogram to determine treatment options. Possible treatments may include medications , valve repair or valve replacement. Written by American Heart Association editorial staff and reviewed by science and medicine advisers. See our editorial policies and staff.

Recovery from a heart condition becomes so much more manageable when you have the right kind of emotional support. Heart Valve Disease. About Heart Valves.

Aortic valve stenosis In aortic valve stenosis, the aortic valve opening is narrowed top row. Aortic valve stenosis Aortic valve stenosis causes a thickening and narrowing of the valve between the heart's main pumping chamber left ventricle and the body's main artery aorta. Share on: Facebook Twitter. Show references Problem: Aortic valve stenosis.

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How can I make my lifestyle healthier? Riggin EA. Allscripts EPSi. Mayo Clinic. Cardiac imaging for assessing low-gradient severe aortic stenosis. Phillips SD expert opinion. Jan 5, Related Aortic calcification: An early sign of heart valve problems? Aortic valve stenosis.