VVU Recap: Matters of the Heart: Understanding Aortic Valve Disease

Trevor Gerber, a physician assistant at the Heart & Vascular Center at Valley View, recently gave a helpful Valley View University presentation called “Matters of the Heart: Understanding Aortic Valve Disorders.”

If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with aortic valve disease, or you’re just curious about how the heart works, this recap of his recent webinar breaks down the ins and outs of aortic valve disease.

What Does the Aortic Valve Do?

Your heart has four valves that help blood flow in the right direction. The aortic valve is one of the most important—it opens to let oxygen-rich blood leave the heart and travel to the rest of your body. When this valve doesn’t work properly, it can cause serious health problems.

Two Types of Aortic Valve Disease: Stenosis and Regurgitation

• Aortic Stenosis: The valve doesn’t open fully, making it harder for blood to flow out of the heart.
• Aortic Regurgitation: The valve doesn’t close tightly, so blood leaks backward into the heart.

What Causes These Problems?

Stenosis often happens as we age. Here are some risk factors:

• Getting older (risk goes up every 10 years)
• Being male (twice the risk compared to females)
• Smoking (35% higher risk)
• High blood pressure
• Being born with a bicuspid aortic valve (affects 1–2 percent of people)

Regurgitation can be caused by:

• High blood pressure
• Valve infections
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Aortic dissection (a tear in the aorta)
• Calcium buildup on the valve

Common Symptoms

If you have aortic valve disease, you might notice:

• Shortness of breath, especially with exercise
• Dizziness or fainting
• Chest pain or tightness
• Feeling tired or less active
• Heart fluttering or palpitations
• Irregular heartbeat (like atrial fibrillation)

If left untreated, these problems can lead to heart failure, dangerous heart rhythms, or even sudden cardiac death.

How Is Aortic Valve Disease Diagnosed?

Providers often diagnose this condition after hearing a heart murmur during a checkup. To confirm what’s going on, they may order:

• Echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart)
• EKG (measures heart rhythm)
• Chest X-ray
• CT scan
• Cardiac catheterization (a test using a thin tube inserted through an artery and into the heart)

Stages of Valve Disease

Doctors classify aortic valve disease into four stages:

• Stage A: At risk, but no symptoms yet
• Stage B: Mild to moderate valve changes, no symptoms
• Stage C: Severe valve disease without symptoms
• Stage D: Severe disease with symptoms

Treatment Options

Treatment depends on how severe the disease is. For mild cases, lifestyle changes and regular monitoring may be enough. For more serious cases, aortic valve replacement is often needed.

There are two main procedures for aortic valve replacement:

• SAVR (Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement), performed through open-heart surgery and
• TAVR (Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement), a less invasive procedure done through an artery in the leg.

The valves to replace those with Aortic Valve Disease include:

• Mechanical valves (made of titanium and carbon). These last a lifetime but require blood thinners during the duration of a patient’s life.
• The second option is bioprosthetic valves (made from cow or pig tissue). These valves last 10–15 years and may require replacement and a second open-heart surgery, but no anti-coagulants are needed.

Living with Aortic Valve Disease

People with aortic valve disease can live full, active lives. Key steps to maintaining health with this disorder include keeping up with regular checkups with your heart doctor or primary care provider, eating a heart-healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables, staying physically active, maintaining a healthy weight, managing stress effectively and avoiding smoking.

To schedule an appointment with Trevor Gerber, PA-C at the Heart & Vascular Center at Valley View, visit www.vvheartcare.org or call 970.379.7920.