Aortic Stenosis

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What is Aortic Stenosis?

Aortic stenosis is a narrowing of the heart’s aortic valve, possibly restricting blood flow to the heart and other organs. This usually happens due to age and “wear and tear” on your heart, but it could also be due to abnormal valve structure, a valve infection, or rheumatic heart disease

Usually, aortic stenosis progresses slowly over the course of years.

Symptoms of Aortic Stenosis

Initially, you will likely not have any symptoms. As the valve continues to narrow, you may
experience:

Chest pain
Leg swelling
Dizziness
Shortness of breath during exertion
Passing out

UR Medicine's Treatments for Aortic Stenosis

Treating heart valve diseases can be complicated. UR Medicine’s Advanced Heart Valve Center provides the latest treatment options, with multiple types of providers who will personalize your treatment.

Diagnosing Aortic Stenosis

We use state-of-the-art diagnostic technology to form the most accurate picture of your heart health as possible. Our experts will discuss all test results, therapeutic strategies and decisions with your referring or primary care physician to make sure you get the treatment that’s right for you. Diagnostic methods include:

Transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography with 3D imaging
Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
Multi-detector computed tomography with 3D reconstruction
Cardiac catheterization

Treating Aortic Stenosis

Treatments for aortic stenosis differ depending on the severity of the disease. You may only need to be monitored by your doctor periodically, while a severe case may require surgery.

No medications have yet been shown to slow the progression of aortic stenosis, though controlling your blood pressure may improve valve function.

Your provider may prescribe medications to manage your symptoms, like:

Antiarrhythmic medication, to help your heart maintain a regular rhythm
ACE inhibitors or beta blockers, used to lower blood pressure
Diuretics, to manage fluid retention

Patients with aortic stenosis may need valve repair or replacement surgery.

Heart valve repair involves using a patient's own tissue to fix the defective valve. UR Medicine Cardiac Care provides the most advanced procedures for heart valve repair.
Heart valve replacement means putting in a new mechanism to replace a severely damaged valve. UR Medicine Cardiac Care offers the very latest options for heart valve replacement, including valves made from natural and artificial materials.
Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) is a rapid, minimally invasive procedure to treat severe valve disease offered at UR Medicine Cardiac Care.

What Sets Us Apart?

UR Medicine is home to the pioneering heart valve program in the Rochester metropolitan area and surrounding region. This program is recognized by the American College of Cardiology with its Transcatheter Valve Certification. This means we provide:

Better care
Better prognoses
Better quality of life
Faster treatment
Better communication with patients and families

UR Medicine offers the Structural Heart Program, completely focused on treating structural and heart valve disease. We offer a multidisciplinary team of providers who specializes in percutaneous and surgical treatments. UR Medicine can also provide every other specialist you may need, including echo-cardiologists, radiologists, and specialists in heart failure, oncology, pulmonology and our congenital cardiac care.

The UR Medicine Advanced Heart Valve Center performs some of the latest breakthrough procedures, including TAVR (transcatheter aortic valve replacement). Because we are part of an academic medical center, our providers and patients are involved in the latest research.

The Cardiac Care Valve Center offers the full range of treatments for heart valve disease, and our team of surgeons are the region’s leaders in minimally invasive procedures, which can be effective for many valve repair surgery patients—even the most challenging repairs.

We aim for collaborative care. Our multidisciplinary teams of experts will work with you to develop a personalized plan that helps you meet your goals.