Aortic Stenosis Information - aortic valve stenosis, congenital aortic stenosis severe

What is Aortic Stenosis

Aortic valvular stenosis may follow rheumatic fever but is more commonly caused by progressive valvular calcification (see illustration). This may occur in younger patients with a congenitally bicuspid valve or in elderly individuals with normal three-cusp valves. In the latter group, the aortic valve becomes sclerotic and, with further calcification, stenotic. Approximately 25% of patients over age 65 years and 35% of those over age 70 years have echocardiographic evidence of sclerosis, which appears to be related to atherosclerotic vascular disease and is associated with a higher rate of vascular events. About 10–20% of these will progress to hemodynamically significant aortic stenosis over a period of 10–15 years. Thus, aortic stenosis has become the most common surgical valve lesion in developed countries. Degenerative valve disease is three to four times more frequent in men than in women and is more common in smokers and hypertensives. Valvular stenosis must be distinguished from supravalvular obstruction and from outflow obstruction of the left ventricular infundibulum, both relatively rare.

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