For patients diagnosed with aortic valve stenosis, corrective surgery is advised and is often extremely safe and effective. But there are some patients with advanced disease whose symptoms may be difficult to recognize, and thus may remain undiagnosed without careful consideration. As Dr. Arvind Agnihotri, assistant professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School, tells host Dr. Janet Wright, some of these symptoms—including decreased exercise tolerance or subtle dyspnea—may be more easily dismissed in older patients, in particular, because we expect these symptoms to appear in this population. In what other ways can we improve our detection of aortic valve disease? Dr. Agnihotri will also guide us through the process of a percutaneous valve replacement, from the initial decision-making process to the early post-operative period.
