What is Aortic Stenosis?

Aortic stenosis is one of the most common types of heart valve disease. This condition, which impacts the aortic valve, is most frequently found in adults aged 65 and older, though it can also affect children. Understanding this condition is the first step toward managing your heart health with confidence.

What is aortic stenosis?

Aortic stenosis is a narrowing of the heart’s main exit, the aortic valve. All the blood that supplies oxygen to the body’s organs passes through this valve. When the narrowing becomes severe, the heart has difficulty pumping enough blood to the rest of the body.

Think of the valve as a door: as blockage increases, the door becomes harder to open and less blood can move forward. If left untreated, aortic stenosis can result in heart failure or angina (chest pain or discomfort caused by reduced blood flow to the heart), highlighting why early detection plays a critical role in patient outcomes.

What causes aortic stenosis?

While some people are born with aortic stenosis, it is most often a disease related to aging. People 65 and older are at the highest risk because the heart valve can stiffen over time.

Calcium, a mineral in your blood, can build up on the valve. This buildup is called calcification, and it makes the valve stiff and hard to open.

Besides age, other risk factors include:

• A family history of heart disease
• High cholesterol
• High blood pressure
• Chronic kidney disease
• Rheumatic fever, a complication of strep throat (this is more common in some parts of the world)

These factors can cause gradual wear and tear on the valve. This is why regular checkups are so important for your long-term health.

What are the symptoms of aortic stenosis?

In the early stages, you may not notice any symptoms. They often appear when you exert yourself because your body needs more blood, and the narrow valve cannot keep up.

Common symptoms include:

1. Shortness of breath
2. Chest pain, often described as pressure or tightness
3. Feeling more tired during normal activities
4. Fainting or feeling light-headed, especially with activity

If you experience any of these signs, it is important to see a cardiologist.

Why is early detection important?

Aortic stenosis often gets worse slowly. Its symptoms can be easy to miss or mistake for normal signs of aging. By the time symptoms are clear, the valve may be very narrow, putting a strain on your heart. Regular checkups and talking to your doctor about any new symptoms can help find the problem early.

Finding aortic stenosis early allows for timely treatment. This reduces the risk of complications and improves your chance of living a healthy, active life

How is aortic stenosis treated?

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to treating aortic stenosis. Your care is tailored to each patient by a dedicated heart team including cardiologists, heart surgeons, imaging specialist and often a structural heart interventionalist. They will look at your overall health, your valve’s condition and your personal preferences to create the best plan for you.

Treatment options include:

• Medications: These do not fix the valve but can help manage symptoms like shortness of breath. They also treat related conditions like high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
• Valve replacement: When the narrowing is severe or you have symptoms, replacing the valve is the main treatment. There are two primary ways to do this:
  • Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement (SAVR): This is traditional open-heart surgery to replace the damaged valve.
  • Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR): This is a less invasive option. A new valve is placed using a thin tube called a catheter, often inserted through an artery in the leg. Recovery is usually faster than with open-heart surgery.

Recent studies show that TAVR is a safe and effective option for many patients. At the Ochsner Aortic Center, our multidisciplinary valve team reviews each case to decide the best timing and treatment approach for you.

What are the latest advancements in diagnosis and treatment?

Diagnosing aortic stenosis has come a long way, making it easier to detect the condition earlier and more accurately. Modern imaging tools, like echocardiography (including 3-D and strain imaging), cardiac CT for valve calcium scoring, and cardiac MRI in certain cases, provide detailed pictures of the heart’s structure and function. Biomarkers, such as elevated BNP or NT-proBNP levels, are also being used more often to assess risk. These non-invasive tests not only help determine the severity of the condition but also guide the best time for treatment. By combining these tools with a multidisciplinary “Heart Valve Clinic” approach, we can create personalized care plans that lead to better outcomes for patients.

What’s new with aortic stenosis?

Recent research shows that for patients with severe aortic stenosis who don’t yet have symptoms but still have good heart function, earlier treatment with TAVR (Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement) can lead to better results than waiting for symptoms to appear.

For those with severe aortic stenosis who haven’t been treated yet, follow-up visits are usually recommended every 6 to 12 months. However, the traditional “watchful waiting” approach is being replaced more often with earlier referrals to a structural heart team.

Catching aortic stenosis early allows for timely treatment, which reduces the risk of complications and helps you maintain a healthy, active lifestyle.

What lifestyle changes should you make to support your heart-valve health?

Alongside medical or procedural treatment, lifestyle measures remain foundational:

• Eat a balanced diet low in sodium and saturated fats
• Engage in regular physical activity (as cleared by your cardiologist)
• Avoid tobacco
• Manage blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes and kidney disease under professional guidance
• Maintain routine follow-ups, especially if you have known valve disease

These supportive steps, combined with our advanced imaging and structural-heart services at Ochsner, help strengthen long-term outcomes for those living with or at risk of heart-valve conditions.

Why choose the Ochsner Aortic Center?

Our team includes cardiologists, structural-heart specialists, imaging experts and cardiac surgeons all collaborating to deliver personalized care. We offer the full spectrum of valve therapies (including the latest TAVR technologies) and a dedicated valve-clinic framework designed to catch evolving disease early. If you or a loved one have been diagnosed with or are at risk for aortic stenosis, we invite you to explore our expert care team.

Take control of your heart health today. Visit the Ochsner Aortic Center to explore advanced treatment options and connect with our expert care team.