New Member

Hello,

I'm new to this board, I found it online when searching out information about moderate aortic stenosis which I was just diagnosed with today. I'm still feeling stunned, unsure of what I can or can't do now such as eating or exercising. I haven't felt any symptoms whatsoever, I actually feel like I'm in the best shape of my life at 54 years old. I've been training for a marathon and not sure if I can continue that or the chin-ups and push-ups I do every day. I've yet to meet with a doctor to discuss the results or plan of action but so far what I've read online hasn't eased my mind. I know looking online isn't the best thing to do and the email with the results even suggested waiting to review with my doctor before reading, but who's going to do that? Lol. Anyways, this looks like an informative and compassionate community and I hope to gain more knowledge and piece of mind as I read the many posts here. Thanks for reading.

Welcome to VR!

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis, but glad that you found us.

skumpet said:

I found it online when searching out information about moderate aortic stenosis which I was just diagnosed with today. I'm still feeling stunned,

Click to expand...

That is totally normal. I was close to your age when I was diagnosed with moderate aortic stenosis- 52. It can take awhile to adjust to your new reality. This forum helped me a great deal in this regard, and I expect it will for you as well. What you will learn is that life is very normal with aortic stenosis, there is a very successful cure for it- surgical valve replacement, and that life is very normal after surgery. It is hard to imagine that life would be normal after OHS, but it really is.

skumpet said:

unsure of what I can or can't do now such as eating or exercising.

Click to expand...

I've never heard of any dietary restrictions for a person due to having aortic stenosis. You should be able to exercise normally, but, of course, check with your doctor about that. Having said that, if he puts lots of exercise restrictions on you, get a second opinion. I can tell you that when I had moderate stenosis I continued to do all kinds of exercise, including Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, boxing, running, biking, hiking and more. You may be limited with respect to lifting heavy weights- just talk to your doctor. Now, aortic stenosis sometimes comes along with an aneurysm, especially if you have a bicuspid aortic valve. If you have an aneurysm, this could alter how hard you are allowed to exercise, depending on how big it is. When people have aortic stenosis in their 50s, it is most commonly caused by having a bicuspid aortic valve or having elevated Lp(a). It would be a good idea to get your Lp(a) tested- simple blood test. If you have a bicuspid aortic valve (BAV), you will be at higher risk for having an aneurysm.

I had my aortic valve surgery 42 months ago, along with getting my ascending aorta replaced with a dacron sleeve. I am very active, still doing all the sports that I did before surgery. I just finished a 4.6 mile hike with a 1,400 elevation gain today and feel great. I climb the mountain just like I use to before surgery.

Moderate aortic stenosis could mean that you are relatively close to surgery, or it could be many years away. It really depends on where it is in the moderate spectrum and how quickly it progresses. For some, it progresses slowly, some fast. When mine was discovered it was already pretty close to to the 'severe' threshold. It crossed into severe after 20 months and I got my surgery.

There are a lot of informative threads here. Take your time and read them. There are also a lot of folks who have been where you are at, so feel free to ask us any questions that you may have.

I want to underscore again that there is no reason why you can't live a totally normal life and continue to do the vast majority of things which you enjoy. The surgery probably has about a 99% success rate for someone your age. So, when that time comes, I am sure that you will do just fine. The fact that you are currently in the best physical shape of your life will only make surgery and recovery that much better. I would strongly encourage you to stay in shape, with your doctor's guidance of course, and go into surgery strong.

There is a lot of cumulative experience on this forum. Please feel free to ask any questions which you may have.

Chuck C said:

Welcome to VR!

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis, but glad that you found us.


That is totally normal. I was close to your age when I was diagnosed with moderate aortic stenosis- 52. It can take awhile to adjust to your new reality. This forum helped me a great deal in this regard, and I expect it will for you as well. What you will learn is that life is very normal with aortic stenosis, there is a very successful cure for it- surgical valve replacement, and that life is very normal after surgery. It is hard to imagine that life would be normal after OHS, but it really is.


I've never heard of any dietary restrictions for a person due to having aortic stenosis. You should be able to exercise normally, but, of course, check with your doctor about that. Having said that, if he puts lots of exercise restrictions on you, get a second opinion. I can tell you that when I had moderate stenosis I continued to do all kinds of exercise, including Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, boxing, running, biking, hiking and more. You may be limited with respect to lifting heavy weights- just talk to your doctor. Now, aortic stenosis sometimes comes along with an aneurysm, especially if you have a bicuspid aortic valve. If you have an aneurysm, this could alter how hard you are allowed to exercise, depending on how big it is. When people have aortic stenosis in their 50s, it is most commonly caused by having a bicuspid aortic valve or having elevated Lp(a). It would be a good idea to get your Lp(a) tested- simple blood test. If you have a bicuspid aortic valve (BAV), you will be at higher risk for having an aneurysm.

I had my aortic valve surgery 42 months ago, along with getting my ascending aorta replaced with a dacron sleeve. I am very active, still doing all the sports that I did before surgery. I just finished a 4.6 mile hike with a 1,400 elevation gain today and feel great. I climb the mountain just like I use to before surgery.

Moderate aortic stenosis could mean that you are relatively close to surgery, or it could be many years away. It really depends on where it is in the moderate spectrum and how quickly it progresses. For some, it progresses slowly, some fast. When mine was discovered it was already pretty close to to the 'severe' threshold. It crossed into severe after 20 months and I got my surgery.

There are a lot of informative threads here. Take your time and read them. There are also a lot of folks who have been where you are at, so feel free to ask us any questions that you may have.

I want to underscore again that there is no reason why you can't live a totally normal life and continue to do the vast majority of things which you enjoy. The surgery probably has about a 99% success rate for someone your age. So, when that time comes, I am sure that you will do just fine. The fact that you are currently in the best physical shape of your life will only make surgery and recovery that much better. I would strongly encourage you to stay in shape, with your doctor's guidance of course, and go into surgery strong.

There is a lot of cumulative experience on this forum. Please feel free to ask any questions which you may have.

Click to expand...

Thank you Chuck, I really appreciate your thoughtful reply. You’ve brought me some needed relief. I would have liked to have talked to a doctor today about my results but I’ll have to wait and then it will probably mean a referral to a cardiologist. So much waiting lol. Is it standard not to have the procedure until you start having symptoms? I’m the kind of person that wants to fix things now if possible. If medication can’t reverse or stop the progression why do they have you wait? Doesn’t that make a person feel like a ticking time bomb of sorts?

Hi.

skumpet said:

Is it standard not to have the procedure until you start having symptoms?

Click to expand...

Good question. The guidelines generally call for surgery once aortic stenosis becomes severe, with symptoms. However, there is growing evidence that it is better to get surgery before the onset of symptoms- a few published medical papers showing much better long term survival. As such, there seems to be a shift gradually happening, with more surgeons recommending surgery before symptoms. My surgeon was in that camp. I think that I am like you, in that I like to get things fixed and taken care of. When I became severe my cardiologist told me that I could get surgery now or wait for symptoms- basically that would likely mean just kicking the can down the road a few months if I waited. It was an easy decision for me to not wait for symptoms, especially after reading up on the long term better outcomes in not waiting. When I had my surgical consultation, I learned that my surgeon was strongly in the camp of not waiting for symptoms. In his words- my first symptom could be sudden death, so get it taken care of now would be ideal. So, we were both solidly on the same page in this regard, while my cardiologist did not have a strong opinion either way and just insisted that the choice was mine, preferring to not try to sway me either way.

I was not interested in getting repeat surgeries, so I opted for a mechanical valve, which most guidelines in the world recommend for patients under 60 years old. Young folks, in the heart valve world that means patients under 70, go through tissue valves faster than elderly folks. I was told that at age 53, I should expect about 10 years out of a tissue valve. That did not appeal to me at all, so I opted for mechanical, which is basically being one and done with the surgery. You will come across info out there claiming that you can't be physically active with a mechanical valve, as you are on warfarin, but that is nonsense. Those of us with mechanical valves live active lives- at least as active as we choose to be. So, since I was going mechanical, it really made no sense for me to wait for symptoms. Really nothing to gain other than to delay the inevitable. I was motivated to get it done, go into surgery as healthy as possible, and get on with my recovery.

But, you are moderate and, as I said previously, you might be months away from being severe, or you might be years away. There is not much point in getting surgery if your stenosis is just moderate and you might not be able to find a surgeon willing to operate this early.

You probably have a good amount of time to digest things and make the decisions that you will need to make. As I see it, the big decision for you will be to go mechanical or tissue. The next big decision, in my view, would be once you do become severe, do you get surgery soon or wait for symptoms. There are threads and many posts about the decision of whether to go mechanical or tissue. Take your time and read them. Ask questions. You almost certainly have months to take it all in and decide and you very well might have years.

Here is a thread that I posted back in 2021, when my aortic stenosis crossed the line into 'severe', in which I discuss the decision which I had to make- get surgery soon or wait. Obviously, you know which decision I made. I also posted to the thread during my stay in the hospital and my recovery from OHS.

https://www.valvereplacement.org/th...to-severe-and-need-to-make-a-decision.887879/