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Normal area averages 2.5 cm2 and there should be no gradient.
Normal valve are is 3-4cm2.
The aortic valve is semilunar with three cusps.
The aortic valves separates the heart from the aorta.
Each cusp is attached to the aortic wall creating a sinus; a Valsalva sinus.
Valve leaflets are separated by commissures.
The posterior leaflet is in continuation with the anterior leaflet of the mitral valve, ref2241ed to as the the aorto-mitral curtain.
It opens during systole, the driving force for it to open is the difference in pressure between the contracting left ventricle of the heart and the aorta.
During cardiac diastole the aortic valve closes..
The origins of the two coronary arteries are sited in two Valsalva sinuses, each named after the coronary artery they supply.
Disease the leading cause of cardiac valve replacement in developed countries.
Aortic valve disease is the most common cause of valve replacement.
No known treatment exists to stop or slow aortic valve disease progression.
There is a causal relationship between a common variant of the LPA gene, via elevated plasma lipoprotein (a) and aortic valve disease.
Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol is an important risk factor for aortic valve disease, but in randomized trials of LDL-C lowering therapy and advanced aortic stenosis did not reduce disease progression.
Aortic disease prevalence is increasing as the global population ages.