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Prone to Frequent Heart Palpitations? It Could be Aortic Stenosis

The aortic stenosis is a condition where the aortic valve in the heart prevents them from supplying blood to the body there by hampering the normal functioning of the heart. The good news is the aortic stenosis could be replaced .Read more to find out more about the disorder.


This article covers
  • Symptoms of Aortic Valve Stenosis
  • Causes of Aortic Valve Stenosis
  • Diagnosis of Aortic Valve Stenosis
  • Treatment for Aortic Stenosis
Aortic valve stenosis is the narrowing of the aortic valve in the heart. This prevents the heart delivering blood to the body in the way that it should. It may cause chest pain, fainting and heart failure. People with severe aortic stenosis may need to undergo an aortic valve replacement.
Symptoms of Aortic Valve Stenosis
  • People who have aortic valve stenosis will generally suffer from the following symptoms.
  • Chest pain is one of the most common side effects of aortic valve stenosis. The pain feels the same as angina pain. It often occurs as a result of exercise or strenuous activity.
  • Fainting may occur when blood pressure is lowered and blood flow to the brain is decreased. Even if fainting does not occur, the same problem may cause the person to feel weak
  • Shortness of breath often occurs with aortic valve stenosis. It may originally come about only when the person is engaged in strenuous activity. However, in advanced cases of the disease, there will be shortness of breath even when the person is resting.
  • Some patients with aortic valve stenosis experience heart palpitations.
  • Some people with aortic valve stenosis feel dizzy.
Not all people experience symptoms with aortic stenosis and symptoms (or lack of them) is not an indication of whether a patient is suffering from the disease. Some people do not experience
Causes of Aortic Valve Stenosis
There are three main causes of aortic stenosis; congenital bicuspid valve, senile calcific aortic stenosis and rheumatic fever. Most people get aortic valve stenosis because they were born with a bicuspid valve, instead of a normal aortic valve. People with bicuspid valves have only two cusps, instead of the normal three cusps. These cusps do not open as widely and do not operate as well as normal valves. There is increased wear on these valves, which lead to calcification and scarring and the narrowing of the heart valves, resulting in aortic stenosis.

The other cause of aortic valve stenosis is senile calcific aortic stenosis. This is the type of aortic valve stenosis that happens as people age. Protein collagen gets destroyed and calcium is deposited on the valve leaflets. This causes the scarring, thickness and eventual narrowing of the heart valves, resulting in aortic stenosis.

Rheumatic fever is another way that aortic valve stenosis can occur. When people get rheumatic fever, there is damage on the heart valves. The valve leaflets may melt together and there may be some aortic regurgitation allowing with the narrowing that results in aortic valve stenosis.
Diagnosis of Aortic Valve Stenosis
The most widely used tests to discover whether a person has aortic valve stenosis are an electrocardiogram, a chest x-ray, echocardiography and cardiac catherization.
  • An electrocardiogram (or EKG) will record the heart’s electrical activity. When an EKG shows abnormal patterns, it may indicate a thickened heart muscle and aortic stenosis.
  • A chest x-ray may be used to look at the heart’s shadow. If there is fluid in the lung tissue and large blood vessels, then this will show up on the x-ray. Either of these things may reveal aortic valve senosis. If there is calcification of the aortic valve, this may also appear on the x-ray.
  • Echocardiography creates images of the heart and valves by using ultrasound waves. It will indicate when there is a thickened or calcified aortic valve.
  • Cardiac catherization is the insertion of catheters into the aortic valve and left ventricle. It measures the rate of blood flow and helps the doctor calculate the area of the aortic valve.
Continue to : Treatment for Aortic Stenosis

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