Calcification And Stenosis Of The Aorta - Causes And Symptoms

2024 Author: Josephine Shorter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 21:43

Causes and symptoms of aortic calcification and stenosis

Definition of disease

The aorta is the largest artery in the human body. This vessel of the systemic circulation leaves the left ventricle and is subjected to high loads, since it takes the maximum pressure of the blood flow. Therefore, an important and necessary property of the aorta is its elasticity and density.

Calcification is the deposition and gradual accumulation of calcium salts that form calcified plaques on the walls of the aortic valve. The danger of this process lies in the fact that as calcium penetrates into the walls of the vessel, they become more fragile, brittle and less elastic.

This, in turn, poses a threat to human life, because with an increase in blood pressure, the calcinated vessel walls may not withstand and rupture, which will lead to death. With calcification, calcium dissolved in body fluids (including blood) is deposited in tissues and blood vessels. This happens when there is an excess of calcium in the blood.

Content:

• Causes of aortic calcification
• Aortic stenosis
• Causes of aortic stenosis
• Diagnosis of aortic stenosis

Causes of aortic calcification

The reasons for an excessive amount of calcium salts in the blood, which significantly increase the likelihood of aortic calcification, may be the following:

1. With age, calcium is intensively washed out of the bones, getting into the blood in excess.
2. Various kidney diseases in which the kidneys are unable to remove the required amount of calcium from the body and it enters the bloodstream.
3. In some pathological conditions of the intestine, an increased absorption of calcium into the blood also occurs.
4. Sometimes there are deviations in the process of calcium absorption by bone tissue (complete absence or insufficient absorption). The remaining calcium enters the bloodstream.

Also, the possible reasons for the development of aortic calcification include bad habits, poor nutrition, stress, heart disease, heredity, physical inactivity, diabetes mellitus, obesity.

For the prevention and early diagnosis of aortic calcification, blood tests should be done regularly. Referral can be obtained from a general practitioner or cardiologist. If the analysis shows an increased calcium content in the blood, then the cause of this deviation should be sought.

Aortic stenosis

Aortic stenosis is a fusion of the leaflets of the aortic valve. Since this pathology leads to a narrowing of the valve opening, the release of blood flow into the aorta is difficult, as a result of which the load on the left ventricle increases significantly, which leads to myocardial hypertrophy.

There are three forms of aortic stenosis: subvalvular, valvular, and supravalvular. Among patients with heart defects, aortic stenosis occurs in 84% of cases, and in men it is three times more common. Of all forms of aortic stenosis, the most common is valvular. Also, aortic stenosis is congenital and acquired (90-97%). The supravalvular form is a congenital pathology.

Causes of aortic stenosis

The causes of acquired valvular or subvalvular stenosis can be aortic atherosclerosis, rheumatic valve lesions, aortic calcification, infective endocarditis. Sometimes the cause is diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, Paget's disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, or carcinoid syndrome.

Symptoms of aortic stenosis may not manifest themselves for a long time, especially at an early age. However, over time, the patient complains of constricting, aching chest pains (in the heart), shortness of breath, fainting, increased heartbeat, nausea, fatigue. Since cardiac output is reduced, this can lead to loss of consciousness. In advanced stages, aortic stenosis can cause a sudden attack of suffocation (cardiac asthma).

Also, in patients with aortic stenosis, the likelihood of sudden death increases, especially with physical exertion. The hypertrophied myocardium becomes the cause of acute coronary insufficiency and arrhythmias that threaten the patient's life.

Diagnosis of aortic stenosis

If symptoms of aortic stenosis appear, you should consult a cardiologist or start an examination with a therapist. Using a stethoscope, the doctor will listen to the noise over the aorta as the left ventricle contracts. An electrocardiogram can detect ventricular hypertrophy. An enlarged ventricle can also be detected by x-ray. An echocardiogram allows you to evaluate the condition of the valves and heart muscle using ultrasound.

Also, an informational research method is cardiac catheterization (insertion of a catheter into an artery). Provides information about intracardiac pressure, localization of constriction, oxygen concentration in the blood, valve condition and the presence of a defect.

The most informative diagnostic method for making a decision about surgical intervention is angiocardiographic examination. It takes place in two stages: ventriculography and oortography.

Article author: Mochalov Pavel Alexandrovich | d. m. n. therapist

Education: Moscow Medical Institute. IM Sechenov, specialty - "General Medicine" in 1991, in 1993 "Occupational Diseases", in 1996 "Therapy".