Assessment of aortic valve disease - a clinician oriented review

Aortic valve disease [aortic stenosis (AS) and aortic regurgitation (AR)] represents an important global health problem; when severe, aortic valve disease carries poor prognosis. For AS, aortic valve replacement, either surgical or interventional, may provide definite treatment in carefully selected patients. For AR, valve surgery (either replacement or - in selected cases - aortic valve repair) remains the gold standard of care. To properly identify those patients who are candidates for surgery, the clinician has to carefully assess the severity of valve disease with an understanding of the potential pitfalls involved in these assessments. This review focuses on the practical issues concerning the evaluation of patients with AS and AR from a general cardiologist's perspective. The most important issues regarding the documentation of the severity of AS and AR are summarized. More specific issues, such as the role of stress echocardiography, other imaging techniques and details regarding the treatment options (medical, surgical, or interventional), are mentioned briefly.