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Heart Services

Diagnosis & Treatment

Aortic Valve Stenosis

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How is Aortic Valve Stenosis Diagnosed?

Diagnosis

If your doctor suspects you may have aortic valve stenosis, they will order one or more tests to confirm a diagnosis. These tests include:

  • Electrocardiogram (ECG). Electrodes are placed on the chest and limbs and connected to the ECG machine by wires. This allows your doctor to monitor the electric activity of the heart.
  • Echocardiogram combines the use of electrodes and ultrasound to monitor how the heart pumps blood.
  • Cardiac catheterization. A catheter is threaded through an artery to the heart, allowing the doctor to obtain more information about oxygen levels and blood flow, along with collecting a blood sample.

How is Aortic Valve Stenosis Treated?

Treatment

In mild aortic stenosis where you are not experiencing symptoms, your doctor may choose to monitor the situation closely, recommending certain medications or lifestyle changes if symptoms do crop up. You will need a procedure to correct the problem when you have severe aortic stenosis.

  • Aortic valve repair or replacement: Aortic valve replacement is often needed to treat aortic valve stenosis successfully. During this open-heart surgery, your surgeon will replace the damaged valve with a synthetic (mechanical) or animal valve. In rare cases, a surgeon may repair the existing aortic valve to treat stenosis.
  • Balloon valvuloplasty: In some situations, aortic valve replacement is not an option, such as in infants, children, or adults who are too ill or old to undergo open heart surgery. During a balloon valvuloplasty, the doctor inserts a catheter with a balloon on the end into the aortic valve. Once it is positioned correctly, the balloon is inflated to widen the aortic valve opening. The catheter and balloon are removed afterward.
  • Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR): A minimally invasive catheter procedure that has been approved for all patients from high risk to low risk. A heart team with surgeons, interventionalists, and imagers meet and discuss the options of open-heart surgery to TAVR and provide the best guidance to the patient.

FAQs

FAQs

Aortic stenosis cannot be fully prevented, but maintaining a healthy weight, blood pressure, and cholesterol level can help reduce your chances of developing the condition.

Some cases of aortic valve stenosis remain mild and do not progress significantly. Others, however, can become more severe over time. Progression from mild stenosis to severe stenosis cases can occur within 5-7 years.

Exercise is always a good recommendation.

While congenital defects or infections can cause aortic stenosis, it is most commonly caused by the gradual buildup of calcium on the valve over time, and thus often impacts patients clinically in their 70s’.

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Trust NewYork-Presbyterian for Aortic Stenosis Treatment

NewYork-Presbyterian cardiologists and heart care doctors are skilled at managing and treating aortic valve stenosis through many types of surgical means and medications. Their thorough understanding of risk factors, symptoms and warning signs means you can be assured that your interdisciplinary care team will provide comprehensive and effective treatment.