"Very Mild" Valvular Calcification

[Nocturne]

This has been bugging me a bit this week...

Shortly after I learned about my "very mild aortic stenosis", I had a coronary CT scan done that casually mentioned "very mild" calcification of the aortic valve. I asked the techs to ran my second echo whether or not they could tell if I had a bicuspid aortic valve or a regular tricuspid one, and they said it looked tricuspid (but it seemed to me that they weren't terribly confident -- ie one asked the other what they thought, and the other looked pensive before giving an answer).

Assuming I DO have a regular tricuspid aortic valve -- how the heck is "very mild" calcification of the aortic valve causing AS? Is that normal? I thought there were a lot of people with significant aortic valve calcification and NO AS at all. Why is a small amount causing recognizable AS?

 

[Heart Of The Sunrise]

You should have an echocardiogram done...that should be more definitive.

 

[Heart Of The Sunrise]

duplicate .

 

[epstns]

In many cases, my own included, the valve cannot be clearly visualized. I had annual echo's for many years and still was diagnosed as having a "probable bicuspid valve." Having a bicuspid valve is probably the most common contributing factor to aortic stenosis in younger patients (stenosis with no known cause is more common among the elderly), but it is not the only one. You may have AS as a younger patient and not have a bicuspid valve. In some ways the docs watch these as two different conditions. They can monitor your stenosis without needing to know whether you have a bicuspid valve or not. The case management and treatment is the same either way. I guess it becomes more important if you are confirmed to have a bicuspid valve, as they then would also screen you for connective tissue disorders, aneurysm, coarctation of the aorta and other anomalies that are more common when BAV is present.

 

[dornole]

Aren't there many causes for stenosis? Bicuspid, other congenital issues, calcification, in my case it's scarring from rheumatic fever . . . . anything that reduces the valve area.

 

[epstns]

Dornole - I'm sure that there are numerous causes of AS. My cardio only cited the two most common as "old age and bicuspid valve disease." Since I was only 52 when diagnosed, we presumed I had a BAV since I sure as heck wasn't going to admit to being old.