Aortic stenosis is a complex disease. About 2-7% of the population over 65 years of age is affected by its degenerative form. In patients with severe aortic stenosis presenting with symptoms or left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF)<.50, aortic valve replacement is indicated. Management and timing of surgery in asymptomatic patients with preserved LVEF is still a matter of debate. Recent published data show that about one third of these patients present with low left ventricle stroke volume, which may affect survival. For this reason, and considering that aortic valve replacement is in most cases a low risk procedure, early surgery in this subgroup is a strategy that deserves to be taken into account. In this review we report on these recent findings, which allow understanding why patients with asymptomatic severe aortic stenosis should not be considered and treated as a homogenous population.
Keywords: Aortic stenosis; Aortic valve; Aortic valve replacement; Estenosis aórtica; Reemplazo de válvula aórtica; Válvula aórtica.
Copyright © 2013 Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.