aortic stenosis - advice please?

Question

i am a 21 year old male, who suffers from aortic stenosis.

the speed of the blood flow measured from my ultrasound has increased 40% in 6 months to 3.8 m/s

i am due a check up in october. can someone inform me of a likely outcome.

i am slightly overweight - 6 ft tall 16 stone, but am attending a gym often. i am a non smoker. aortic stenosis does not seem to afffect me as such, but i am not as fit as i have been in the past.

Answer 1

My son has moderate aortic stenosis and has just had his check up this week. There is no knowing from one appointment to the next what will happen. That is why you have these checkups, to catch any signs of worsening before they become a problem.
We have been told an operation is an inevitability but we are hoping it will be in terms of years not months.
I know how nerve wracking it is just before these appointments and I hope it all goes well for you.

Answer 2

If you have aortic stenosis at age 21, it's likely congenital, that is, you were born with it.

The severity of the stenosis is measured by 1] the pressure gradient across the valve, and 2] the calculated size of the aortic valve orifice, which decreases over time. Don't know the orifice size [the aortic valve area], but with a peak flow of 3.8 m/s, your valve gradient is 58 mm hg, which is moderate to severe stenosis.

Very unusual to have the gradient increase by 40% in 6 months, there could be some error in the measurements. But if true, your stenosis is increasing fairly rapidly, and you will likely need valve replacement in a few years at the latest.

Either way it is inevitable that your valve will need replacement, because the condition is progressive.

Answer 3

It's not so much the speed of the blood flow, as the pressure gradient across the valve.

It doesn't sound like the AS is affecting you much.

If you are having dizzy spells or collapses, chest pains or shortness of breath then I would say the AS is much more severe and you would need to consider surgery.

As it is, just keep working out.

I don't think anybody can predict this month what will happen to your health next month.