What causes aortic stenosis?
In adults, three conditions are known to cause aortic stenosis. • Progressive wear and tear of a bicuspid valve present since birth (congenital). • Wear and tear of the aortic valve in the elderly. • Scarring of the aortic valve due to rheumatic fever as a child or young adult. Bicuspid aortic valve is the most common cause of aortic stenosis in patients under age 65. Normal aortic valves have three thin leaflets called cusps. About 2% of people are born with aortic valves that have only two cusps (bicuspid valves). Although bicuspid valves usually do not impede blood flow when the patients are young, they do not open as widely as normal valves with three cusps. Therefore, blood flow across the bicuspid valves is more turbulent, causing increased wear and tear on the valve leaflets. Over time, excessive wear and tear leads to calcification, scarring, and reduced mobility of the valve leaflets. About 10% of bicuspid valves become significantly narrowed, resulting in the symptoms and hea
