It's Aortic Valve Disease Awareness Week - Treatment
AORTIC VALVE DISEASE: WHAT IS IT AND HOW IS IT TREATED?
Your aortic valve may be small, but it has a HUGE responsibility!
Located between the heart’s left ventricle and the aorta, the aortic valve opens with each heartbeat to allow blood to leave the heart and enter the aorta—and then closes to prevent blood from flowing backward.
A typical native aortic valve has three leaflets, called a tricuspid aortic valve. Some people, however, are born with a congenital difference such as a bicuspid aortic valve (BAV), which has two functional leaflets instead of three. Less commonly, a person may have a unicuspid or quadricuspid aortic valve.
BAV is particularly important in the aortic community because it can be associated not only with valve problems, but also with enlargement of the aorta and other aortic complications.
So what can go wrong with the valve?
🔴 AORTIC STENOSIS: The valve becomes narrowed or stiff and cannot open fully. This makes the heart work harder to pump blood through the valve.
🔴 AORTIC REGURGITATION / INSUFFICIENCY:
The valve doesn't close properly, allowing blood to leak backward into the heart.
Some people may have few or no symptoms initially. As valve disease progresses, symptoms can include shortness of breath, chest discomfort, fatigue, dizziness, fainting, palpitations or decreased ability to exercise or perform normal activities.
🩺 HOW IS AORTIC VALVE DISEASE TREATED?
Just like aortic disease, treatment is not one-size-fits-all.
👀 WATCH & MONITOR: Mild or asymptomatic valve disease may be monitored with regular appointments and imaging—often with an echocardiogram—to watch the valve, heart function and, when appropriate, the aorta.
💊 MEDICAL MANAGEMENT: Medications generally cannot “fix” a damaged valve, but they may be prescribed to manage symptoms or related conditions such as high blood pressure, abnormal heart rhythms or fluid buildup.
🪡 AORTIC VALVE REPAIR: In selected patients and for certain types of valve disease, surgeons may be able to repair the patient's own valve rather than replace it.
❤️ SURGICAL AORTIC VALVE REPLACEMENT (SAVR): When valve disease becomes severe, open-heart surgery may be recommended to replace the diseased valve. Depending on the individual, replacement options may include a mechanical valve or a tissue/bioprosthetic valve.
🔧 TRANSCATHETER AORTIC VALVE REPLACEMENT (TAVR/TAVI): For appropriate patients—particularly those with certain forms of aortic stenosis—a replacement valve may be delivered through a catheter rather than traditional open-heart surgery.
And sometimes there is another piece of the puzzle…
🫀 THE AORTA.
For patients who also have an aortic aneurysm or other disease involving the aortic root or ascending aorta, treatment planning may need to address both the valve AND the aorta.
That’s why understanding YOUR anatomy and having an experienced healthcare team matters.
Ask questions:
❓ What type of aortic valve do I have?
❓ Is my valve stenotic, regurgitant—or both?
❓ How severe is it?
❓ Is my aorta enlarged?
❓ What are my treatment options?
❓ How often should my valve AND aorta be monitored?
❓ Should my family members talk with their doctors about screening?
Knowledge can help you become an active participant in your healthcare journey.
❤️ KNOW YOUR VALVE.🫀 KNOW YOUR AORTA.👨👩👧 KNOW YOUR FAMILY.🩺 KNOW YOUR OPTIONS.
Think Aorta. Think Family.
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