
Get answers to your Aortic Valve Surgery questions.
Aortic valve stenosis; Left ventricular outflow tract obstruction; Rheumatic aortic stenosis; Calcium aortic stenosis
People with aortic stenosis may have no symptoms at all until late in the course of the disease. The diagnosis may have been made when the healthcare provider heard a heart murmur and then performed additional tests.
Symptoms of aortic stenosis include:
In infants and children, symptoms include:
Children with mild or moderate aortic stenosis may get worse as they get older. They also run the risk of developing a heart infection (bacterial endocarditis).
The health care provider will be able to feel a vibration or movement when placing a hand over the person's heart. A heart murmur, click, or other abnormal sound is almost always heard through a stethoscope. There may be a faint pulse or changes in the quality of the pulse in the neck (this is called pulsus parvus et tardus).
Infants and children with aortic stenosis may be extremely tired, sweaty, and have pale skin and fast breathing. They may also be smaller than other children their age.
Blood pressure may be low.
The following tests may be performed:
Otto CM, Bonow RO. Valvular heart disease. Zipes DP, Libby P, Bonow RO, Braunwald E, eds. Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine. 8th ed. St. Louis, Mo: WB Saunders; 2007:chap 62.
Fullerton DA, Harken AH. Acquired heart disease: valvular. In: Townsend CM Jr., Beauchamp RD, Evers BM, et al., eds. Sabiston Textbook of Surgery. 18th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 62.
Grimard BH, Larson JM. Aortic stenosis: diagnosis and treatment. Am Fam Physician. 2008;78(6):717-724.
Nishimura RA, Carabello BA, Faxon DP, et al. ACC/AHA 2008 guideline update on valvular heart disease: focused update on infective endocarditis: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines endorsed by the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists, Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions, and Society of Thoracic Surgeons. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2008;52(8):676-685.
Obstructive lesions. In: Park MK, ed. Pediatric Cardiology for Practitioners. 5th ed. St. Louis, Mo: Mosby Elsevier; 2008:chap 13.