- of patients with symptomatic (NYHA
class III/IV) moderately severe or severe
aortic regurgitation (AR) could die
within 1 year of diagnosis
Time is of the essence
Aortic valve disease symptoms may not appear until the condition is severe, and waiting for symptoms before treatment could lead to more serious complications and even death.1
The onset of serious symptoms is associated with a steep drop‐off in the survival curve.2
Adapted from Braunwald 2018.
Learn more about the importance of timely intervention:
If aortic valve disease is left untreated or medically managed, mortality risk is high3‐5
- of patients who have moderate AS could
die within 1 year of diagnosis - of patients who have severe AS could
die within 1 year of diagnosis
- of patients who have asymptomatic
moderate-to-severe AR could die
within 5 years of diagnosis - of patients who have asymptomatic
moderate-to-severe AR could die
within 10 years of diagnosis
- of patients who have moderate AS
could die within 5 years of diagnosis - of patients who have severe AS could
die within 5 years of diagnosis
Cardiologists play a key role in treating severe AR. See how you can help AR patients get the care they need before it's too late.
Help patients hold on to their quality of life longer
Guidelines suggest that postoperative outcomes in patients with severe AR are better when surgery is performed early or before the onset of symptoms.6
Echocardiography and other imaging techniques can help identify patients at high risk for symptom progression.2
In severe AR patients, performing surgery early, before symptoms occur, improves postoperative outcomes.6
The risks of aortic valve replacement for severe aortic stenosis, including surgical and transcatheter options, have greatly declined.2
ACC/AHA Guideline Knowledge Check
How well do you know the recommendations for mechanical or tissue valves from the 2020 American College of Cardiology (ACC) /American Heart Association Guideline (AHA) Guideline for the management of valvular heart disease? Take the quiz and test your knowledge.
Quality of life in heart valve selection
You know what matters most to your patients, but they may not know how important it is to consider those things when selecting a heart valve. With your help, patients can make more educated choices on what valve is best for them and their lifestyle.
When adequate information and tools are provided to patients to support the shared decision‐making process in valve selection, it can serve to:7
improve informed status
reduce anxiety and depression
improve the overall mental well‐being of patients
Challenges of lifetime anticoagulation therapy
Vitamin K antagonists (VKAs), such as warfarin, are the recommended anticoagulation therapy for patients with mechanical valves. However, to be successful, VKAs require patient education and adherence to attain and maintain a therapeutic international normalized ratio (INR).
The challenges of lifetime anticoagulant therapy for patients may include:6
more frequent physician visits
dietary restrictions
lifestyle and activity restrictions
monitoring of INR with routine blood tests
medical interactions
Use this brochure to review more anticoagulation considerations with your patients:
Heart valve replacement in women of childbearing age
More women living with valvular heart disease are reaching childbearing age and becoming pregnant.8 Their pregnancies present challenges and are linked to an increased incidence of adverse outcomes.9
When implantation of a prosthetic valve is unavoidable in patients who want to become pregnant, valve selection can be challenging.10
Consider these decision points to support patients planning to become pregnant in making optimal valve selections
Compared with women who received a tissue valve, women with mechanical valves experienced twice as many adverse events.11
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