How to manage patients with aortic stenosis?

Aortic stenosis is a form of valvular heart disease that is bound to be seen more and more often by healthcare professionals in the coming years. This is due to the increasing life expectancy and the increasing rate of incidental echocardiographic diagnosis in asymptomatic patients. No effective drug treatment for AS is available. Symptomatic patients with significant AS should be referred for surgery. When deciding the method and timing of management, cardiologists and cardiac surgeons should take into consideration the symptoms present, the patient.’s age (life expectancy) and the echocardiographic evaluation of the severity of stenosis. The riskto- benefit ratio of the various management options should be assessed individually. (Cardiol J 2007; 14: 510-517