What is aortic valve stenosis?Aortic valve stenosis (AS) is a disease of the aortic valve in which the opening of the valve is narrowed. When the opening of the aortic valve becomes narrowed or constricted (stenotic), the blood can not be pumped adequately and the pressure in the left ventricle increases. Over time, the LV compensates by thickening its walls in order to maintain adequate pumping pressure. In later stages, the left ventricle dilates, the wall thins, and the systolic function deteriorates.
Aortic stenosis is most commonly caused by age-related progressive calcification of the normal tricuspid aortic valve (>50% of cases). Other causes include calcification of a congenital bicuspid aortic valve (30-40% of cases) and acute rheumatic fever (less than 10% of cases). Normal valves have three leafs (tricuspid), but some valves have two leafs (bicuspid). Typically, aortic stenosis due to calcification of a bicuspid valve appears earlier, in the 40s and 50s, while aortic stenosis due to calcification of a normal valve appears later, in the 70s and 80s. Hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipoproteinemia and uremia may speed up the process. Approximately 2% of people over the age of 65, 3% of people over age 75, and 4% percent of people over age 85 have aortic valve stenosis. The prevalence is increasing with the aging population in North America and Europe. |
What are the causes of aortic stenosis?
Aortic stenosis is most commonly caused by age-related progressive calcification... How common is aortic valve stenosis? Up to 1.5 million people in the U.S. suffer from aortic stenosis... What is TAVR? Transcatheter aortic valve replacement is a minimally invasive... |
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Mark J Russo, MD, MS
Chief, Cardiac Surgery Director, Structural Heart Disease Associate Professor of Surgery Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School |
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Dr. Russo performs the full range of cardiac surgery including Coronary Artery Surgery - Coronary Artery Bypass Grafts; Bypass Surgery; CABG; Coronary Artery Surgery; Reoperation; Off Pump Bypass Surgery; Off Pump Heart Surgery; Valve Surgery - Aortic Valve Repair; Aortic Valve Replacement; Mitral Valve Repair; Mitral Valve Replacement ; Reoperatve Heart Valve Surgery;; Endovascular and Hybrid Aortic Surgery; Transcatheter Valve Surgery - TAVR, TAVI, ViV, MVIV, valve-in-valve; Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery - Minimally Invasive Mitral Valve Repair; Mitral Valve Replacement; Minimally Invasive Aortic Valve Surgery; Aortic Surgery - Aorta Surgery; Aortic Dissection; Complex Aorta Surgery; Valve Sparing Roots, Heart Surgery for Marfan Syndrome; Aortic Root Aneurysms; Ascending Aortic Aneurysms; Aortic Arch Aneurysms; Descending Thoracic Aortic Aneurysms; Thoracoabdominal Aortic Aneurysms; Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms; Aortic Dissections, including Type A Dissections and Type B Dissections; Native Aortic and Prosthetic Graft Infections, including Endocarditis; Congenital Aortic Disease, such as Marfan's syndrome and Loeys Dietz; Transplant Surgery - Heart and Lung. He was trained by Dr. Mehmet Oz and Craig Smith and Eric Rose. Read about Matt Millen undergoing Heart Transplant