[Management of patients with aortic valve stenosis].
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A patient with calcified aortic valve disease secondary to ochronosis and alkaptonuria is presented. Urgent aortic valve replacement was necessary. The cardiovascular complications of this disease are reviewed.
OBJECTIVES: To evaluate multislice computed tomography (MSCT) as an alternative to coronary angiography, we prospectively studied its diagnostic accuracy for the detection of significant coronary artery lesions in patients with significant aortic valve stenosis undergoing valve surgery. BACKGROUND: In patients with aortic valve stenosis, coronary angiography is still recommended before surgery. Multislice computed tomography is a promising noninvasive technique for the detection of significant coronary artery lesions. METHODS: Fifty-five consecutive patients scheduled for coronary angiography in the preoperative assessment of aortic valve stenosis underwent 16-slice MSCT 24 h before coronary angiography. We analyzed coronary lesions, image quality, and arterial calcium score. RESULTS: The sensitivity of the MSCT-based strategy in detecting significant stenosis was 100%, and its specificity 80%. The positive and negative predictive values were respectively 55% and 100%. For calcium scores <1,000 (77% of patients), MSCT detected all patients without coronary artery disease, enabling conventional coronary angiography to be avoided in 35 of 55 cases (80%). For calcium scores >1,000, MSCT enabled conventional coronary angiography to be avoided in only 6% of cases, either because significant stenosis was found with a possible indication of revascularization, or because the examination was not interpretable. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this initial experience in relatively few patients suggest that MSCT-based coronary angiography may serve as an alternative to invasive coronary angiography to rule out significant coronary artery disease in patients scheduled for elective aortic valve replacement. Larger studies are necessary to fully explore the potential of coronary MSCT to improve preoperative risk stratification.
OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that vitamin D receptor polymorphism is associated with calcific aortic valve stenosis. DESIGN: The distribution of one polymorphism of the vitamin D receptor (BsmI B/b) was examined in 100 consecutive patients with calcific valvar aortic stenosis and compared with a control group of 100 patients (paired match for age, sex, and the presence of coronary artery disease from a total of 630 patients without calcified aortic valves). Polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism were used to determine genotypes. RESULTS: There was a significant difference in vitamin D receptor allele and genotype frequencies between the two groups. The allele B had a higher prevalence in patients with calcific aortic stenosis (B = 0.56, b = 0.44) than in the control cohort (B = 0.40, b = 0.60) (p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: There is a significant association of vitamin D receptor polymorphism with calcific aortic valve stenosis. The B allele of the vitamin D receptor is more common in patients with calcific aortic valve stenosis. It now needs to be evaluated whether other genes that control calcium homeostasis are involved in the pathogenesis of this disorder.
OBJECTIVES: This study was performed to evaluate the use of synthesized ascending aorta pressure, calculated from femoral artery pressure using an aortofemoral transfer function, in the assessment of aortic valve stenosis. BACKGROUND: Measurement of an accurate aortic valve gradient in patients with aortic stenosis often requires simultaneous recordings of ascending aorta and left ventricular pressures. The use of femoral artery pressure is considered to be a poor substitute for ascending aorta pressure. However, the aortic pressure wave can be calculated from the femoral artery pressure if the aortofemoral transfer function has been determined. METHOD: Femoral artery pressure from the side arm of an introducer sheath and ascending aorta pressure are recorded simultaneously and the data stored in a personal computer. An aortofemoral transfer function is determined from the ratio of the Fourier components of aortic and femoral pressures. Left ventricular and femoral artery pressures are then recorded. Using the previously determined transfer function, the simultaneous ascending aorta pressure is calculated from the femoral pressure. RESULTS: Ascending aorta pressure waveforms estimated from femoral artery pressure closely resembled the simultaneously recorded ascending aorta pressure. Mean aortic valve gradients calculated from the synthesized aortic pressure correlated well with the gradient measured from direct recordings of aortic pressure (r = 0.98). There was also a good relation between valve areas (r = 0.93) and valve resistances (r = 0.98) calculated using the two methods. CONCLUSIONS: Using current computer technology, accurate aortic valve gradients can be rapidly calculated using femoral artery pressure as a substitute for ascending aorta pressure. This technique will reduce the need and risks of multiple catheters to determine aortic valve gradients.
BACKGROUND: Mitral regurgitation (MR) is frequently associated with aortic stenosis. Previous reports have shown that coexisting mitral insufficiency can potentially regress after aortic valve replacement. HYPOTHESIS: This study sought to assess the frequency and severity of MR before and after aortic valve replacement for aortic stenosis and to define the determinants of its postoperative evolution. METHODS: For this purpose, 30 adult patients referred for aortic valve surgery underwent pre- and postoperative transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography and color Doppler examination. RESULTS: Mean preoperative left ventricular ejection fraction was 57 +/- 16% and remained unchanged postoperatively. Preoperative MR was usually mild to moderate and correlated with aortic stenosis severity and left ventricular systolic dysfunction. The color Doppler mitral regurgitant jet area significantly decreased during the postoperative period (p = 0.016) as left ventricular loading conditions returned to normal, suggesting an early decrease of the functional part of MR. On the other hand, the mitral regurgitant jet width at the origin remained unchanged. Statistical analysis found pulmonary artery pressure (p = 0.02) an d indexed left ventricular mass (p = 0.009) to be preoperative predictive factors of postoperative MR improvement. Predictive factors of postoperative MR severity were left atrial diameter (p = 0.02), pulmonary artery pressure (p = 0.003), and the presence of mitral calcifications (p = 0.004). CONCLUSION: In our cohort of patients with normal left venticular ejection fraction, the majority of moderate MR, associated with severe aortic stenosis, regresses early after aortic valve replacement. Mitral calcifications and/or left atrial dilation seem to be predictive factors of fixed MR.
BACKGROUND: This study examined the late outcome after intervention for neonatal aortic valve stenosis. METHODS: Seventy-three neonates (59 boys and 14 girls) underwent intervention for critical aortic valve stenosis during the first 30 days of life at two institutions, The Hospital for Sick Children, London, and Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina. Procedures performed include closed valvotomy (n = 12), open valvotomy with inflow occlusion (n = 14), open valvotomy with cardiopulmonary bypass (n = 33), balloon valvotomy (n = 12), and other procedures (n = 2). The mean age at the first intervention was 8 +/- 1 days. RESULTS: The hospital mortality was 52.1%. The mean duration of follow-up for the hospital survivors (n = 35) was 8.3 +/- 1.1 years. The actuarial survival for the hospital survivors was 93.3% +/- 4.7% at 10 years and 83.9% +/- 9.8% at 15 years, whereas event-free survival (reintervention, endocarditis, or early death) was 61.8% +/- 9.3% at 5 years, 34.2% +/- 10.8% at 10 years, and 27.4% +/- 10.6% at 15 years. Three patients have died and 11 patients have required aortic valve replacement during the follow-up period. The age at the initial intervention, the type of initial intervention, and the year of initial intervention were not predictive of early death or need for reintervention. At last follow-up, 26 of the long-term survivors (n = 32) were in functional class I and 6 were in functional class II. CONCLUSIONS: Aortic stenosis in the neonatal period is a difficult problem with a high initial mortality. Late survival and functional class are excellent for patients surviving the initial hospitalization, but most require further intervention within 10 years.
To compare characteristics of aortic regurgitation (AR), the results of 213 procedures (110 balloon aortic valvotomies [BAV] and 103 surgical aortic valvotomies [SAV]) for treatment of congenital aortic valve stenosis were reviewed. These procedures were performed in 187 patients from June 1981 to September 1993. Echocardiograms recorded immediately before, within 6 months afterward, and at latest follow-up were compared. Color Doppler was used to assess the degree of AR and was quantified as the ratio of the regurgitant jet width to valve annulus, the jet width ratio. Whereas BAV patients were older (median age 5.7 years vs 3 months; p = 0.0001), there was no significant difference in median follow-up interval (3.1 years [range 0.5 to 7.2] for BAV vs 3.6 years [range 0.6 to 10.4] for SAV; p = 0.44). The mean balloon-to-annulus ratio for BAV was 0.99 +/- 0.09. An open valvotomy was performed in 83% of surgical cases. Acute systolic gradient reduction and subsequent increase at late follow-up was similar for both groups. Acutely, the mean jet width ratio increased similarly (p = 0.84) for BAV (+9 +/- 15%; p = 0.0001) and SAV (+9 +/- 12%; p = 0.0003) and was not related to age at procedure. At late follow-up, mean jet width ratio further increased significantly in both groups, although there was no difference (p = 0.17) in amount of progression (BAV +10 +/- 12%; p = 0.0001, SAV +15 +/- 13%; p = 0.0002). Thus, BAV and SAV produce AR of similar severity with similar rates of progression.
Operative balloon dilatation of the aortic valve was performed in seven neonates with critical stenosis of the aortic valve. The procedure was followed by the development of severe aortic regurgitation in four patients. Necropsy was performed in three and revealed partial detachment of the right coronary cusp of the aortic valve. Damage to the valve leaflet caused by balloon dilatation was probably the result of using a balloon with a diameter that was too large in relation to the aortic valve ring diameter and of shearing forces created in the aortic wall by the contracting ventricle. The diameter of the inflated balloon should not be larger than the diameter of the aortic valve ring.
Two-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography was used to measure aortic valve orifice area in 24 patients with aortic valve stenosis (AS) and 15 patients without aortic valve disease. Using transesophageal echocardiography, orifice area could be measured in 20 of 24 patients with AS. With transthoracic echocardiography, orifice area could be determined in only 2 of 24 patients. In patients with AS, orifice area determined by transesophageal echocardiography was 0.75 +/- 0.34 cm2 and that calculated with Gorlin's formula was 0.75 +/- 0.32 cm2. In normal aortic valves, orifice area was 3.9 +/- 1.2 cm2 by transesophageal echocardiography. A good correlation was demonstrated between aortic valve orifice area determined using transesophageal echocardiography and calculated orifice area using Gorlin's formula in patients with AS: r = 0.92, standard error of estimate = 0.14 cm2. The absolute difference between orifice area measured with both methods ranged from 0.0 to 0.4 cm2 (mean 0.09 +/- 0.1). In 4 patients orifice area could not be determined with transesophageal echocardiography. The orifice could not be identified in 2 patients because an appropriate cross-sectional view of the aortic valve could not be achieved and in 2 patients with pinhole stenosis (aortic valve orifice area 0.3 cm2). These data show that aortic valve orifice area can be measured reliably using 2-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography.
OBJECTIVES: Angiodysplasia is considered to be an important cause of gastrointestinal bleeding in the elderly. An association between idiopathic gastrointestinal bleeding and aortic valve stenosis has been reported in up to 25% of the patients. The association between angiodysplasia mainly of the right colon and aortic valve stenosis has been suggested, but is not proven. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of aortic valve stenosis in patients with gastrointestinal angiodysplasia. METHODS: We studied retrospectively 83 patients submitted to gastrointestinal endoscopy and found affected by angiodysplasia. Of them 24 (16M and 8F) had died from causes unrelated to cardiovascular diseases. The 59 patients still alive (27M and 32F) underwent a complete clinical, electrocardiographic and echocardiographic (M-mode, B-mode, pulsed and continuous-wave Doppler) evaluation. RESULTS: Fifteen patients (25%) had a normal examination, both clinical and echocardiographic. Eleven (19%) had minor cardiac abnormalities but had no murmurs. Although no murmurs were present in 15 patients (25%), some echocardiographic abnormalities such as aortic leaflet sclerosis, mitral annular calcification, their association, or trivial mitral regurgitation detectable only at PW-Doppler were found. In 18 patients (31%) both systolic murmurs and valvular abnormalities, as revealed by echocardiographic examination, were detected: 10 had a regurgitant and 8 an ejectional murmur; of these only 1 (1.6%) had a true severe calcified aortic valve stenosis at echo-Doppler examination. CONCLUSIONS: The low prevalence of aortic valve stenosis in patients with gastrointestinal angiodysplasia (1/59 or 1.6%) in this retrospective study argues against the association of gastrointestinal angiodysplasia and aortic valve stenosis.
AIMS: In experimental studies the recovery of pressure distal to stenotic valve orifices has been well described. We evaluated the extent, determinants, and clinical importance of pressure recovery in patients with aortic valve stenosis. METHODS AND RESULTS: The study was performed in 37 patients with aortic valve stenosis, in whom cardiac catheterization was performed and left ventricular and aortic pressures were determined using a high-fidelity multi-tip micromanometer catheter. To register the pressure waveforms accurately the catheter was positioned so that the proximal micromanometer was in the left ventricle, the second at the site of minimal pressure in the vena contracta, and the third (the most distal) in the ascending aorta 16 cm further downstream. The amount of pressure recovery within the ascending aorta was up to 44% of the maximal pressure drop. The index pressure recovery was directly correlated to the Gorlin-derived aortic valve area (r=0.80) and indirectly correlated to the ratio of aortic valve area and the cross-sectional area of the ascending aorta. CONCLUSIONS: This clinical study confirmed experimental data, that index pressure recovery is dependent on the ratio of the effective valve area and the cross-sectional area of the ascending aorta. Pressure recovery may need to be considered in patients with mild to moderate aortic stenosis and with a small cross-sectional area of the ascending aorta.
A total of 59 patients (> or = 65 years of age) with normal left ventricular function (ejection fraction > 50%) and varying degrees of aortic valve structure and hemodynamics (normal to severely stenotic) were screened; 50 were subsequently enrolled. Continuous wave Doppler echocardiography in the descending thoracic aorta showed two general patterns: (1) in aortic stenosis, the pattern consisted of two peak systolic velocity components (S1 and S2); and (2) in normal aortic valve function, the pattern was a uniphasic signal with a single peak systolic velocity component. The new Doppler pattern yielded 95% sensitivity and 90% specificity in the detection of clinically significant aortic valve stenosis, and 92% sensitivity and 70% specificity in the detection of severe aortic valve stenosis. Sensitivity was 96% in uniphasic signals during normal aortic valve function by conventional 2-dimensional and Doppler criteria. This article introduces characteristics of this Doppler velocity profile as a new diagnostic finding of aortic valve stenosis.
A case of critical aortic valve stenosis was diagnosed in utero by echocardiography and managed successfully by early elective caesarean section and aortic valvotomy.