Aortic Stenosis

The aorta is the main artery that carries blood away from your heart to the rest of your body.

Four heart valves control how blood flows in and out of your heart. The valves are like one-way doors that keep blood flowing in the right direction.

The aortic valve is between your heart and aorta. This valve opens into the aorta to let blood out of your heart. The valve closes to keep blood from running back into your heart.

Aortic stenosis is when your aortic valve won't open all the way. The narrowed valve makes it hard for your heart to pump out blood.

(See also Overview of Heart Valve Disorders Overview of Heart Valve Disorders Your heart is a muscle that pumps blood through your body. Your heart has four chambers. The atria are the two upper chambers in your heart—the right atrium and the left atrium. The ventricles... read more .)

In people younger than 70, the most common cause is a birth defect of the aortic valve.

In people over 70, the most common cause is thickening of the valve cusps (called aortic sclerosis).

The most common cause in low-resource countries is untreated rheumatic fever Rheumatic Fever Rheumatic fever is inflammation of the joints, heart, skin, and nervous system, resulting from a complication of untreated streptococcal infection of the throat. This condition is a reaction... read more . Rheumatic fever is a rare complication of untreated strep throat Streptococcal Infections What are streptococcal infections? Streptococcus, simply called strep, is a common group of bacteria. Different types of strep cause different diseases. Most often they cause sore throat or... read more that children can get.

Children who have aortic stenosis caused by a birth defect may not have symptoms until they become adults.

Symptoms of aortic stenosis include:

Doctors suspect aortic stenosis by listening to your heart with a stethoscope. Doctors use echocardiography Echocardiography and Other Ultrasound Procedures Echocardiography is also sometimes called an echocardiogram or an echo. An echo is an ultrasound of your heart. Sound waves bounce off your heart to create a moving image of your heart. This... read more (an ultrasound of your heart) to find out how bad the stenosis is.

If you have aortic stenosis but don't have symptoms, doctors often do a stress test Stress Testing A stress test lets doctors see how your heart works when it’s under stress, such as when you exercise. Many heart problems are easier for your doctor to find when your heart is working hard... read more .

If the stress test shows a problem or if you have symptoms, the doctors will do cardiac catheterization Cardiac Catheterization Cardiac catheterization (also called cardiac cath) is a heart procedure done in a hospital. The doctor puts a thin plastic tube (catheter) through an artery and into your heart. Doctors get... read more to find out if you have coronary artery disease Overview of Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) The heart is a muscle that pumps blood. Like all muscles, the heart needs a steady supply of blood to work. Blood that pumps through the heart doesn't feed the heart muscle. Instead the heart... read more as well as aortic stenosis. That's because if you need surgery for aortic stenosis, doctors will also fix your coronary arteries at the same time.

If you’re an adult with aortic stenosis but you don’t have symptoms, you should:

If you have symptoms or if your left ventricle begins to fail, doctors will do surgery to replace your aortic valve with:

If you're very old and sick or there are other reasons why heart surgery would be too risky, doctors may replace your aortic valve during cardiac catheterization Cardiac Catheterization Cardiac catheterization (also called cardiac cath) is a heart procedure done in a hospital. The doctor puts a thin plastic tube (catheter) through an artery and into your heart. Doctors get... read more . But heart surgery is better if you're able to tolerate it.

If you get a mechanical valve, you'll need to take blood-thinning medicine for the rest of your life, but the valve may last several decades. If you get a bioprosthetic valve, you'll need to take the blood-thinning medicine for only a few months, but the valve will only last 10 to 12 years.

Children and young adults born with a problem in their valve may have a procedure called balloon valvotomy. The doctor inserts a thin, hollow tube (catheter) through a vein or artery into your heart. The doctor inflates a balloon on the tip of the catheter. The balloon pushes the valve open. Balloon valvotomy doesn't work very well for older people.

People with damaged or replaced valves sometimes need antibiotics to prevent heart valve infection, such as when they: