Aortic Valve Disease · The key risk factors for aortic valve disease are: • Heart disease. Other forms of heart disease including ... diseased aortic valve and insert a new valve

What Should You Know?Aortic Valve Disease

www.AorticValveHelp.org I (866) 378-0309

Table of Contents

What is Aortic Valve Disease? 3

What are the Symptoms? 6

What are the Risks? 7

What are the Risk Factors? 8

Diagnosing Aortic Valve Disease 9

Treatment Options 10

Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement

Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement

Surgical Aortic Valve Repair

References 13


What Is Aortic Valve Disease?


Aortic valve disease is a life-threatening form of heart valve disease resulting in more than 250,000 hospital admissions per year in the United States.

There are two common types of aortic valve disease – aortic stenosis and aortic regurgitation. Both aortic stenosis and aortic regurgitation disrupt the flow of oxygen-rich blood from the lungs as it passes through the left ventricle into the aorta.

Bicuspid aortic valve is a congenital heart defect that results from a malformed aortic valve during pregnancy. A bicuspid aortic valve only has two leaflets (instead of three) and can cause stenosis and/or regurgitation.

Aortic Stenosis Diagram

Aortic Stenosis. As shown above, aortic stenosis is a “narrowing” of your aortic valve that blocks the flow of blood through your body. Aortic stenosis is often caused from a build-up of calcium on the valve during a patient’s

lifetime. Other causes of aortic stenosis including birth defects (e.g. a bicuspid aortic valve), rheumatic fever or radiation therapy. Approximately 12% of people over the age of 75 have some form of aortic stenosis.

Aortic stenosis forces your heart to “work overtime” to pump blood across your narrow valve to your body. Eventually, this extra work limits the amount of blood the heart can pump and may weaken the cardiac muscle, according to the Mayo Clinic1.

Reports suggest that aortic stenosis can be life-threatening and progress rapidly. Patients diagnosed with severe aortic stenosis have only a 50% chance of survival just two years after experiencing symptoms unless aortic valve surgery is performed2.

Aortic Regurgitation Diagram



Aortic Regurgitation. As shown above, patients diagnosed with aortic regurgitation, also known as aortic insufficiency, have heart valve leaflets that do not close completely. Heart valve leaflets are flap-like structures in the aortic valve that control the flow of blood through the heart in one direction.

Aortic regurgitation causes blood to leak backwards from the aorta to the left ventricle. Over time, a leaking aortic valve increases the stress and strain on the cardiac muscle as the heart is forced to “re-pump” blood over-and-over again.

Bicuspid Aortic Valve. While normal aortic valves have three heart valve leaflets, patients with a bicuspid aortic valve have two leaflets. According to Northwestern Medicine, this congenital heart defect impacts 1% to 2% of the general population.

Patients with bicuspid aortic valves can suffer from both forms of aortic valve disease including aortic stenosis and aortic regurgitation.

Although patients with aortic valve disease can be aysmptomatic (without symptoms), patients with aortic stenosis and/or aortic regurgitation may experience one or more symptoms.

According to the American Heart Association, the main symptoms associated with aortic valve disease are3:• Shortness of breath • Chest pain (angina), pressure or tightness• Fainting• Heart palpitations• Decline in activty level• Heart murmur

What Are The Symptoms?


Laurence MsallChicago, IllinoisAortic Valve Patient

The symptoms I had were being light headed and fainting when exercising. It was a rather frightening experience.

What Are The Risks?Many aortic valve disease patients live for years without any health problems. However, aortic valve disease can progress quickly and lead to health risks, including:• Enlarged Heart. The left ventricle of the heart can

thicken to compensate for the increased effort needed to pump blood through the body. At first, this helps the body overcome aortic valve disease. Over time, however, the left ventricle progressively increases in diameter, stiffens, and gradually loses its ability to generate enough force to compensate for aortic valve disease.

• Abnormal Heart Rhythms. Patients with aortic valve disease may develop abnormal heart rhythms like atrial fibrillation.

• Heart Failure. Due to the structural problems caused by aortic stenosis and aortic regurgitation, the heart is less efficient specific to the flow of blood throughout the body. As a result, aortic valve disease can significantly weaken the heart and lead to congestive heart failure.

• Death. In addition to the risks identified above, aortic valve disease can result in death for patients who do not have an intervention. Patients diagnosed with severe aortic stenosis have only a 50% chance of survival just two years after experiencing symptoms unless aortic valve surgery is performed2.


What Are The Risk Factors?The key risk factors for aortic valve disease are: • Heart disease. Other forms of heart disease including

coronary artery disease and atrial fibrillation (an abnormal heart rhythm) can lead to aortic valve disease.

• Heart Attack. A heart attack can damage your heart, affecting aortic valve function.

• Increasing Age. Over 12% of people over the age of 75 have some form of aortic valve disease4.

• Congenital Heart Disease. Many people are born with deformed aortic valve structures (e.g. the annulus) and tissue leaflets (e.g. bicuspid aortic valve).

• Infections. Inflammation from infections including bacterial endocarditis and rheumatic fever can damage the aortic valve.


To diagnose aortic valve disease, your doctor may review your symptoms and medical history, and conduct a physical examination.

Your doctor may request several tests to diagnose your condition, including:• Stethescope• Electrocardiogram (ECG) • Exercise stress test• Angiogram• Echocardiogram • Transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE)

How Is It Diagnosed?


How Is It Treated?There are different types of surgical procedures to treat aortic valve disease. The most common forms of aortic valve therapy are transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), surgical aortic valve replacement and surgical aortic valve repair.Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR): During TAVR, a catheter is used to replace the aortic valve of a patient with aortic stenosis. This less invasive procedure does not require an incision to the patient’s sternum or ribs. In 2011, the first TAVR device received a Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approval in the United States for inoperable patients. Since then, TAVR devices have received FDA-approvals for high-risk, intermediate-risk, and low-risk patients.

TAVR Device

Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement: During SAVR, an aortic valve that is severely diseased with stenosis or regurgitation is replaced using an incision across the breast bone (sternum). Open heart surgeries can also be performed through smaller incisions. During the


procedure, the surgeon will completely remove the diseased aortic valve and insert a new valve made from biological tissue (cow, pig or human valve) or man-made materials like carbon (a mechanical valve)Surgical Aortic Valve Repair: For some patients with aortic regurgitation (a leaky valve), an aortic valve repair may be performed to reconstruct the valve to enhance the performance of the heart valve leaflets and/or the shape of the aortic valve. Sometimes, a durable and sturdy ring is implanted to reinforce the structure of the aortic valve. During an aortic valve repair, your surgeon may use minimally-invasive techniques to treat your aortic valve.


There are several different approaches for treating aortic valve disease. In addition to open-heart and minimally-invasive techniques, there are new transcatheter approaches that do not require an incision to the patient’s chest or ribs.

To get screened for the most appropriate aortic valve therapy for you, please visit AorticValveHelp.org.

To get screened for aortic

valve therapy, please visit:

AorticValveHelp.org

Or, call (866) 378-0309 to

speak with a nurse today!

Get Aortic Valve Help Today!


https://www.aorticvalvehelp.org

1. Mayo Clinic - http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/aortic-stenosis/basics/definition/con-20026329

2. NewHeartValve.org - https://newheartvalve.com/what-is-severe-aortic-stenosis

3. American Heart Association - http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/More/HeartValveProblemsandDisease/Problem-Aortic-Valve-Stenosis_UCM_450437_Article.jsp#.V-sM3zKZNTY

4. Otto CM. Timing of aortic valve surgery. Heart. 2000;84:211-21.

References


Aortic Valve Disease · The key risk factors for aortic valve disease are: • Heart disease. Other forms of heart disease including ... diseased aortic valve and insert a new valve

Documents