Aortic Stenosis Treatment, Symptoms,Causes & Surgery

What is Aortic Valve Stenosis?

Aortic stenosis or aortic valve stenosis occurs when the aortic valve of the heart narrows down. The narrowing of the aortic valve stops it from opening completely, which obstructs the flow of blood from the heart into the aorta and the rest of the body. Under this condition, the heart needs to exert harder in pumping blood to the body. This exertion from the heart’s end might cause the heart muscles to weaken, limiting the amount of blood being pumped. If somebody has a severe case of aortic valve, they will need a surgery to replace the damaged valve, or else it can lead to grave heart problems. Aortic stenosis majorly affects old people, as the valve that is defective usually hardens and narrows down.

The symptoms of aortic valve stenosis appear only when the narrowing of the valve is of a grave type. Recognizing the symptoms on your own will not be possible. Only a medical check up will discover the issue. The symptoms that are majorly experienced are:

Fainting because of excess exertion.
Pain in the chest and tightness.
Abnormal sound of the heart.
Fluttering sensation of the heart.
Excess of fatigue.
Shortness of breath.

Causes

The major causes include:

Rheumatic fever.
Calcium buildup on the valve.
Congenital heart defect.

Risks

The main risk factors associated with this disease include:

Previous rheumatic fever.
Kidney disease that is chronic.
Deformed aortic valve.
Age.

Prevention

In order to prevent the occurrence of the disease, one should take care of the following:

Steps to prevent the occurrence of the rheumatic fever.
Taking care of the teeth and gums.
Addressing the risk factors of coronary artery disease.

How is it diagnosed?

For a proper diagnosis of this disease, some physical examinations and a medical history review will be very helpful. At Medanta, our medical expert would conduct the following tests:
...

Cardiac catheterization
Brain natriuretic peptide
X-ray of the chest
Stress echocardiogram
Observing legs and feet
Checking for abnormal sounds of the heart or lungs
Take a blood pressure test
Pulse analysis

How is it treated?

The treatment accounting for replacement of the valve is suggested on the basis of some factors such as how intense the stenosis is, if somebody has symptoms, or if the heart is able to pump blood correctly. There are no medicines as such to treat..

Blood Thinners
Blood clots may be prevented by use of blood thinners. They might include anticoagulant medicine or antiplatelet medicines.
Antibiotics
Before somebody gets any surgical or dental procedures done, some antibiotics might help prevent an infection in the heart, called endocarditis.
Balloon valvuloplasty
This procedure uses a catheter to run through the blood vessel into the aortic valve that is narrowed.
Aortic valve replacement
This procedure is regarded as the chief surgical treatment to remove the narrowed valve, and substituting it with a new tissue valve.
Surgical valvuloplasty
Through this procedure, valves are surgically and more effectively repaired than the balloon valvuloplasty therapy, as the flow of blood is easily improved.

When do I contact the doctor?

One should immediately contact a doctor if they begin to face symptoms like pain in the chest, abnormal sound of the heart, excess of fatigue, and breathlessness. All these symptoms will be treated just right by our medical experts at Medanta.

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