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| Vol. 25, No. 2 |
| February 1, 2003 |
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Could You Have a Serious Heart Condition and Not Know It? By BOBBI GRUNER Houston VA Medical Center A 60-year old veteran jogs three miles a day and feels fine. During a routine visit to his primary care physician at the Houston VA Medical Center, an examination reveals he has a heart murmur caused by the narrowing of one of his aortic valves. This is called aortic stenosis, which sometimes develops with age, says Blase Carabello, M.D., of the Houston VA Medical Center, who has published an article on the subject in the New England Journal of Medicine. VA Doctors are seeing this serious condition more frequently today, due to the aging baby-boomer generation. Most affected individuals feel fine, have no symptoms, and don’t realize they have aortic stenosis. When symptoms arise, they usually include breathlessness, blacking out, and angina or chest pain. Many conditions besides aortic stenosis can cause these symptoms. However, if aortic stenosis is the culprit, sufferers generally have from one month to three years to live, unless the aortic valve is surgically replaced by an artificial one. “If a physical exam reveals possible aortic stenosis, we recommend that an echocardiogram (an image that uses ultrasound to record the heart’s structure and function) be performed on the patient,” Carabello said. Carabello, who has studied aortic stenosis for 25 years, advises that if the echocardiogram reveals severe aortic stenosis, the patient should undergo an exercise test to evaluate the heart’s performance under physical stress. If the results are abnormal, he recommends that a coronary arteriography (an X-ray test that allows the heart’s main pumping chambers to be inspected) and an aortic valve replacement surgery be immediately performed. Patients who have undergone aortic valve replacement surgery can usually get on with their lives and enjoy an almost normal life expectancy. In January, the Houston VA Medical Center’s cardiac surgery program received the VA’s highest health care award for excellence. The award recognizes VA Medical Center programs that provide quality service while meeting the highest standards of health care, patient satisfaction, exceptional use of VA resources, and research.
©2006 Texas Medical Center E-Mail: tmcinfo@texmedctr.tmc.edu URL: http://www.tmc.edu/tmcnews/02_01_03/page_14.html |