EL
EN
The aortic valve connects the left ventricle to the aorta. Narrowing of the valve leads to a reduced blood flow to the aorta while its insufficiency leads to a regurgitation of blood flow to the left ventricle.
- Syngopic episodes
- shortness of breath
- arrhythmias
- angina pectoris
are some of the symptoms of aortic valve stenosis, which if not treated in time can lead to heart failure or sudden death.
Risk factors are:
- the double-leaf aortic valve
- rheumatic fever
- chronic renal failure
- the age
When the valve is insufficient then the amount of blood that is pushed towards the body is reduced, resulting in the patient feeling tired in the effort. As the degree of insufficiency worsens, other symptoms appear such as lower extremity swelling, dizziness, arrhythmias, angina.
Causes of the disease are:
- congenital heart disease
- rheumatic fever
- endocarditis
- Marfan syndrome
- hypertension
- trauma
Severe aortic valve insufficiency leads to heart failure.
The surgical treatment of the above diseases by our cardiac surgery team is performed endoscopically with excellent results. Maintaining the patient's valve and improving its functionality is the preferred solution. In those cases where there is calcification of the valve, then a replacement with either a mechanical or a biological prosthesis is indicated.
Mechanical valves have a life-long durability but the patient must be on anticoagulant treatment for life.
Biological valves have the significant advantage of near normal quality of life and the disadvantage that they may need reoperation after 10 to 15 years.
Aortic root aneurysms are treated surgically with the David technique. The patient's valve is re-implanted in a tubular graft to maintain the natural valve.
In patients of very high surgical risk and advanced age, the TAVI method is indicated, which is a method of percutaneous valve replacement.
