Symptoms of Aortic Stenosis

Aortic stenosis symptoms range from mild to severe. Signs and symptoms of aortic valve stenosis usually appear when a valve is severely narrowed. Many people with aortic stenosis may not experience symptoms for years. Look below for signs and symptoms of aortic stenosis. Contact our experts if you are experiencing any of these symptoms. 

• Chest pains (angina) or tightness when active
• Feeling faint or dizzy, fainting when active
• Shortness of breath and/or fatigue, especially when you're active
  
• Heart palpitations and sensations of a rapid, fluttering heartbeat
• Abnormal heart sound or heart murmurs
  
• Not eating enough (primarily children with aortic valve stenosis)
• Not gaining enough weight (mainly in children with aortic valve stenosis)

Aortic stenosis has heart-weakening effects that may could lead to heart failure. Some symptoms of heart failure are fatigue, short breath, and swollen ankles and/or feet.

Symptoms of Aortic Stenosis

Aortic stenosis symptoms range from mild to severe. Signs and symptoms of aortic valve stenosis usually appear when a valve is severely narrowed. Many people with aortic stenosis may not experience symptoms for years. Look below for signs and symptoms of aortic stenosis. Contact our experts if you are experiencing any of these symptoms. 

• Chest pains (angina) or tightness when active
• Feeling faint or dizzy, fainting when active
• Shortness of breath and/or fatigue, especially when you're active
  
• Heart palpitations and sensations of a rapid, fluttering heartbeat
• Abnormal heart sound or heart murmurs
  
• Not eating enough (primarily children with aortic valve stenosis)
• Not gaining enough weight (mainly in children with aortic valve stenosis)

Aortic stenosis has heart-weakening effects that may could lead to heart failure. Some symptoms of heart failure are fatigue, short breath, and swollen ankles and/or feet.

Four valves in your heart keep blood flowing in the correct direction. These valves include the mitral valve, tricuspid valve, pulmonary valve and aortic valve. Each valve has flaps (cusps or leaflets) that open and close once during each heartbeat. Sometimes, the valves don't open or close properly, disrupting the blood flow through your heart and potentially impairing the ability to pump blood to your body.

Treating Aortic Valve Stenosis

In aortic valve stenosis, the aortic valve between the lower left heart chamber (left ventricle) and the main artery that delivers blood from the heart to the body (aorta) is narrowed (stenosis).
When the aortic valve is narrowed, the left ventricle has to work harder to pump a sufficient amount of blood into the aorta and onward to the rest of your body. This can cause the left ventricle to thicken and enlarge. Eventually the extra work of the heart can weaken the left ventricle and your heart overall, and it can ultimately lead to heart failure and other problems.
Aortic valve stenosis can occur due to many causes, including:
Congenital heart defect. The aortic valve consists of three tightly fitting, triangular-shaped flaps of tissue called cusps. Some children are born with an aortic valve that has only two (bicuspid) cusps instead of three. People may also be born with one (unicuspid) or four (quadricuspid) cusps, but these are rare.
This defect may not cause any problems until adulthood, at which time the valve may begin to narrow or leak and may need to be repaired or replaced.

Rheumatic Fever

Rheumatic fever. A complication of strep throat infection, rheumatic fever may result in scar tissue forming on the aortic valve. Scar tissue alone can narrow the aortic valve and lead to aortic valve stenosis. Scar tissue can also create a rough surface on which calcium deposits can collect, contributing to aortic valve stenosis later in life.
Rheumatic fever may damage more than one heart valve, and in more than one way. A damaged heart valve may not open fully or close fully — or both. While rheumatic fever is rare in the United States, some older adults had rheumatic fever as children.

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