Aortic stenosis

Alternative names:

aortic valve stenosis

Symptoms:

• fainting or weakness with activity
• breathlessness with activity
• sensation of feeling the heart beat (palpitations)
• chest pain, angina-type
  • under the sternum, may radiate
  • crushing, squeezing, pressure, tightness
  • increased with exercise, relieved with rest

• cough

Note: Aortic stenosis may show no symptoms until late in the course of the disease.

Additional symptoms that may be associated with this disease:

• urine output, decreased
• dizziness

Signs and tests:

Examination shows a palpable chest thrill or heave (vibration or movement felt by holding the hand over the heart). There is almost always a heart murmur, click, or other abnormal sounds on auscultation (examination of the chest with a stethoscope). There may be faint pulses or changes in the quality of the pulse in the neck (the change in pulse is known as pulsus tardus). Blood pressure may be low.

Aortic stenosis and/or enlargement of the left ventricle may be revealed on:

• a left coronary angiography
• an echocardiogram
• a Doppler ultrasonography
• a chest X-ray

An ECG may show left-ventricle enlargement or arrhythmias (unusual pattern of heart beats) such as ventricular tachycardia or sinus bradycardia.

This disease may also alter the results of the following:

• a chest MRI
• an aortic angiography