Aortic stenosis is caused by narrowing of the orifice of the aortic valve and leads to obstruction of left ventricular outflow. This stenosis is rare in persons less than 50 years old.1 Calcification of the aortic valve is the most common cause of aortic stenosis in adults in industrialized countries and affects more than 4% of North American and Europeans more than 75 years old.2 In a study3 of 338 North American patients with severe asymptomatic aortic stenosis, the mean age was 71 (SD, 15) years. Aortic stenosis was also associated with higher morbidity and mortality rates than were diseases involving other cardiac valves.4 For example, in a study5 of 161 patients, patients with moderate and severe aortic stenosis had 2-year mortality rates of 40.2% and 58.2%, respectively. In another study6 of 274 medically managed patients with severe aortic stenosis, 66.4% of whom...
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1 April 2013
Cardiovascular Medicine|
April 01 2013
Aortic Stenosis: Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, and Medical Management of Nonsurgical Patients
Theresa Cary, RN;
1Theresa Cary is a clinical nurse specialist in the medical cardiology step-down units at Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio.
Corresponding author: Theresa Cary, RN, MSN, ACNS-BC, CCRN, CHFN, Cleveland Clinic, 9500 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44195-5245 (e-mail: [email protected]).
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Judith Pearce, RN
Judith Pearce, RN
2Judith Pearce is a nurse manager in the coronary and heart failure intensive care units at Cleveland Clinic. Lieutenant Colonel Pearce is also a flight nurse with the 445th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio.
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Crit Care Nurse (2013) 33 (2): 58–72.
Citation
Theresa Cary, Judith Pearce; Aortic Stenosis: Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, and Medical Management of Nonsurgical Patients. Crit Care Nurse 1 April 2013; 33 (2): 58–72. doi: https://doi.org/10.4037/ccn2013820
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