Aortic Valve Stenosis

Treatment

No treatment is generally recommended for mild, and often moderate, aortic stenosis. However, ongoing monitoring of the condition is important to determine any change toward a moderate or severe level.

For severe aortic stenosis, an interventional cardiologist may be able to perform a balloon valvuloplasty in which a balloon catheter is used to expand the valve leaflets by purposely creating tears between the leaflets to improve the narrowing of the valve. This is done during a cardiac catheterization generally by entering the groin vessels while using X-ray guidance.

Follow-up care into adulthood

Adults with mild aortic valve stenosis that doesn’t require treatment should follow up with their cardiologist to monitor for progression of valve narrowing or heart failure. Tests that can be done include the following:

• Echocardiogram
• Electrocardiogram (ECG/EKG)
• Exercise stress test
• Computed tomography (CT) scan
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan

Your cardiologist may restrict some of your activity depending on the severity of your aortic stenosis, so always check with your doctor before starting any new physical activity. The narrowing from your aortic stenosis may progress to the point where you may require treatment either by a balloon catheter or surgery. Some valves will need to be replaced by a prosthetic valve.

If you have a bicuspid aortic valve, not only is the valve abnormal, but the vessel that carries blood from your heart to the rest of your body (aorta) can enlarge or dilate near the aortic valve. In some circumstances, the aorta will dilate so large that there’s a risk of the vessel tearing. This can be treated by surgery in which the dilated portion of the aorta is replaced by a prosthetic tube.