In patients presenting with symptoms, the natural history of significant aortic stenosis is unfavourable and the prognosis is dramatically improved by valve replacement. 1-3 However, some patients remain entirely free from symptoms despite severe outflow obstruction. When these asymptomatic patients are discovered incidentally it is often assumed that their outcome will be improved by surgery. ...

BACKGROUND Aortic valve area (AVA) estimation in patients with aortic stenosis may be obtained using several methods. This study was undertaken to verify the cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) planimetry of aortic stenosis by comparing the findings with invasive catheterization, transthoracic (TTE) as well as tranesophageal echocardiography (TEE) and anatomic CMR examination of autopsy spe...

BACKGROUND Although aortic valve replacement can be performed at an acceptable risk level in selected patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction and low-output, low-gradient aortic stenosis, not all patients presenting with these hemodynamics will benefit from the operation. Some patients may have only mild aortic stenosis, despite a small calculated valve area. We report on the clinic...

C et al. Influence of pre-operative left ventricular contractile reserve on postoperative ejection fraction in low-gradient aortic stenosis. Outcome after aortic valve replacement for low-flow/low-gradient aortic stenosis without contractile reserve on dobutamine stress echocardiography.dictors of outcomes in low-flow, low-gradient aortic stenosis: results of the multi-center TOPAS Study. B-typ...

Aortic stenosis affects 3% of persons older than 65 years. Although survival in asymptomatic patients is comparable to that in age- and sex-matched control patients, it decreases rapidly after symptoms appear. During the asymptomatic latent period, left ventricular hypertrophy and atrial augmentation of preload compensate for the increase in afterload caused by aortic stenosis. As the disease w...

Bioprosthetic valves are increasingly used in patients with aortic valve stenosis. In comparison with mechanical valves, these valves have a lower risk of thromboembolism and no need for anticoagulation [1,2]. However, the durability is limited; the best current valves are expected to degenerate in 10 to 20 years, resulting in stenosis or regurgitation or combined pathology. Surgical aortic val...

OBJECTIVE Development of calcific aortic valve stenosis involves multiple signaling pathways, which may be modulated by peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ). This study tested the hypothesis that pioglitazone (Pio), a ligand for peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ, inhibits calcification of the aortic valve in hypercholesteremic mice. METHODS AND RESULTS Low density lipoprot...

L ipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] was discovered in 1963 by Kaare Berg in Norway, and elevated levels were already then considered a cardiovascular risk factor (1). For many years, Lp(a) received only moderate scientific and clinical attention; however, in recent years, important new evidence has emerged, and elevated Lp(a) is now considered a causal risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Genetic varian...

C alcific aortic valve stenosis is by far the most common valve disease in developed countries. The first clinical symptoms usually appear in the late 60s. Prosthetic aortic valve replacement is the only effective treatment at present. The reasons for the occurrence of calcifications of the aortic cusps leading eventually after many years to aortic valve stenosis are unknown. Some risk factors,...

The aorta of a patient with aortic valve stenosis may be unduly thin, fragile, and liable to dissect irrespective of the presence or absence of atheroma. Indeed, Coleman (1955) stated that aortic dissection in young people was most commonly associated with coarctation or with bicuspid aortic valve. Petch (1952) reported fatal haemopericardium from ruptured dissecting aneurysm in a man of 35 yea...