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Pathophysiology of Aortic Valve Stenosis

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Book cover Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation

Abstract

The calcific aortic valve stenosis is one of the most common heart valve diseases in the western countries and its prevalence is growing with the aging of population. The second cause of aortic valve stenosis in the developed countries comes from rheumatic disease. The third cause of aortic valve stenosis in terms of prevalence comes from congenital anatomic variations, unicuspid or bicuspid valves. Several mechanisms are involved in the process of progressive calcification. Inflammation, risk factors for atherosclerosis, oxygen free radicals, and calcium metabolism alteration cause a progressive sclerosis and calcification of the valve leading to a leaflet movement reduction and pressure gradient increase across the valve. With progressive reduction of leaflets movement, there is a continuum spectrum of augmented pressure overload of the left ventricle with the consequent development of myocardial hypertrophy. The mechanisms of valve degeneration and ventricle response are elucidated in this chapter.

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Di Giammarco, G., Marinelli, D. (2019). Pathophysiology of Aortic Valve Stenosis. In: Giordano, A., Biondi-Zoccai, G., Frati, G. (eds) Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05912-5_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05912-5_3

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-05911-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-05912-5

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