• Healthy State
  • Careers
  • Education
  • Research
  • Giving
Ochsner Health Ochsner Health
  • About
  • Find A Doctor (current)
  • Find A Location
  • Specialties & Treatments
MyOchsner Logo
Login | Signup
Submit Search magnifying glass icon
Close Search X icon
  •   Home
  • In To Your Health...
  • Food & Fitness
  • Conditions & Treatment
  • Health Trends
  • Prevention & Wellness
  • Women's Health
  • Men's Health
  • Mental Health
  • Parenting
  • I need to...
  • Find A Doctor
  • Find A Location
  • Find A Specialty
  • Schedule An Appointment
  • Pay A Bill
  • Explore
  • About Ochsner
  • Careers
  • Patients & Visitors
  • "To Your Health" Blog
  • Health Resources
  • Medical Professionals
  • Education
  • Philanthropy
  • Community Outreach
  • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
  • Research
  • Ochsner Health Network
  • Schedule an Appointment
  • Call: 1-866-624-7637
  • Online: Login to MyOchsner
  • Personalize your content
  • patient Edit Persona Persona Chooser
To Your Health

View Newsletter Editions
  • Food & Fitness
  • Conditions & Treatment
  • Health Trends
  • Prevention & Wellness
  • Women's Health
  • Men's Health
  • Mental Health
  • Parenting
Gettyimages 925447366 Hands Heart

What is Aortic Stenosis?

Jan 10, 2022 |
By José Tafur, MD
Share Facebook Logo Twitter Logo Pinterest Logo Email Logo

One of the most common types of heart disease is aortic stenosis, a heart valve disease impacting the aortic valve. Aortic stenosis can impact children, but it's most common in adults 65 and older. 

What is aortic stenosis?

Aortic stenosis is the narrowing of the main gate out of the heart (known as the aortic valve) through which all the blood that supplies oxygen to your organs passes through. If the narrowing of the valve becomes too severe, then the heart has trouble pumping blood to all the organs.

Think of it this way – the valve is a door and as it becomes increasingly blocked, it becomes more difficult for blood to pass through. If left untreated, aortic stenosis can lead to heart failure or angina. 

What causes aortic stenosis?

Although some children are born with aortic stenosis, individuals aged 65 and above are most at risk for developing this condition since the valve deteriorates as the body ages.

Over time, the valve begins to accumulate calcium, which leads to a stiffening of the valve and poor function. In addition to age, common risk factors include rheumatic fever, family history, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and chronic kidney disease.

Initially, symptoms present in conjunction with activities that cause exertion. Why? Well, the more energy your body uses, the faster your heart pumps blood to your tissues to keep up.

Common symptoms of aortic stenosis include:

  • Shortness of breath
  • Chest pain (pressure or tightness)
  • Reduced activity level (normal activities begin to require more energy)
  • Passing out or fainting

How healthy is your heart? Take the first step towards a healthy heart by taking our free heart health risk assessment here.


How is aortic stenosis treated?

One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to treating aortic stenosis. Your care team will look at all the moving pieces and customize a care plan tailored to you. Typical care plans include a combination of medication and a valve replacement.

Thanks to advancements over the last decade, there’s an alternative to open heart surgery. Today, cardiologists can replace the narrow valve with a new one via a trans catheter technique – a minimally invasive option in which a small incision is made through the patient’s leg.

So, what’s the bottom line? If you or a loved one is experiencing symptoms of aortic stenosis, get checked out by a cardiologist.

Tags
cardiology

You may also be interested in:

Heart
Food & Fitness
January 27, 2022

Heart-Healthy Diet: 6 Tips

Fruits and vegetables, whole grains and limited sodium intake are some of the best ways to fight heart disease.
By William Bennett, MD, PhD
454238423 Stethoscope Heart Shape
Conditions & Treatment
September 4, 2020

Five Questions to Test Your Heart Knowledge

How well do you know your heart? Answer these five questions below to find out how much you know about your heart and how to take care of it.
Heart disease common myths
Conditions & Treatment
December 28, 2021

Common Heart Disease Myths

Heart disease myths range from who is most vulnerable, what you can and can’t do in terms of exercise and eating and what a heart attack looks and feels like.
By William Bennett, MD, PhD

email envelop icon Comments about the blog? Send us an email!

Ochsner Health

Schedule An Appointment: 1-866-624-7637

Follow us: Facebook Follow Ochsner Health on TikTok Twitter Follow Ochsner Health on Twitter LinkedIn Visit Ochsner Health's LinkedIn page Instagram Follow Ochsner Health on Instagram YouTube Subscribe to Ochsner Health on YouTube Pinterest Follow Ochsner Health on Pinterest TikTok Follow Ochsner Health on TikTok

Healthy living tips, delivered weekly to your inbox.

Sign Up

Patients & Visitors

  • Billing & Financial Services
  • Insurance Information
  • International Patients
  • Request Medical Records
  • Share Your Story
  • Read Patient Stories

Medical Professionals

  • Transfer a Patient
  • Refer a Patient

Health Resources

  • To Your Health Blog
  • Golden Opportunity
  • Healthy State
  • Ochsner Magazine

Job Seekers

  • Career Paths
  • Benefits
  • Open Positions

Employees

  • Webmail
  • OHSLink
  • Workday

Employers

  • Corporate Wellness
  • Medicare Advantage Plans

Community Outreach

  • Classes & Events
  • Programs
  • Community Health Needs Assessment
  • Dr. John Ochsner Discovery Health Sciences Academy

Education

  • Graduate Medical Education
  • Clinical Medical Education
  • Continuing Medical Education
  • Medical Library
  • Publishing Services
  • Medical Illustrations

Research

  • Clinical Trials
  • Applied Health Services Research
  • Clinical Research & Trials
  • Nursing Research
  • Translational Research

Giving

  • Donate
  • Volunteer

About Ochsner

  • Mission & Vision
  • History
  • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
  • Annual Report
  • Outcomes & Honors
  • News & Media
  • Alumni
  • Ochsner Health Network
  • Contact Us

Shop

  • O Bar
  • Optical Shop
  • Ochsner Fitness Center
  • Brent House Hotel

© Ochsner Health  | Notice of Privacy Practices | Terms of Use | Vendor Information

Ochsner accepts all major insurances.

Ochsner is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization, founded on providing the best patient care, research, and education.

We are one of the country’s largest non-university based academic medical centers.

Ochsner is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, disability or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.

Community Needs Health Assessment

EpicMobile Tablet | EpicMobile Phone

newsletter icon

Subscribe to Our Newsletters

newsletter icon

Select the newsletters you'd like to receive.

Please select at least one category to continue.

Curious about our newsletters?

View details for each edition
newsletter icon

Let us know where to send your newsletters.

To Your Health- Food and Fitness:
To Your Health- General:
To Your Health- Men’s Health:
To Your Health- Parenting:
To Your Health- Women’s Health:
To Your Health-Mental Health Monthly":
To Your Health- Skin Deep:

Source:
Source Description:
Marketing Goal:
newsletter icon

You're all set!

We’ll send newsletters full of healthy living tips right to your inbox.

Ochsner Health System
magnifying glass icon
ESC to Close

Begin Typing to Search

Select the drop-down to filter Search by Blog Articles or Sitewide