CardiovascularPending review

Aortic Stenosis

Progressive narrowing of the aortic valve forces the left ventricle to generate ever-higher pressures to maintain forward flow, and the compensatory hypertrophy this produces keeps patients symptom-free for years until the ventricle finally fails, giving the classic late triad of angina, syncope and heart failure.

First principles

A fixed outflow obstruction demands higher pressure, not just more effort

Calcific degeneration, a congenital bicuspid valve, or rheumatic disease progressively narrows the aortic valve orifice. To push the same stroke volume through a smaller opening, the left ventricle must generate a much higher systolic pressure, so a pressure gradient develops across the valve that widens as the stenosis worsens.

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Educational content pending clinical review. Not medical advice.