Advances In Calcific Aortic Valve Disease Research

Calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) is one of the most common forms of valve disease. It has become the most widespread cardiac valve disease in the economically advanced nations. Population ageing is one of the major reasons for this increasing rate. Th

Due to population aging, calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) has become the most common heart valve disease in Western countries. No therapies exist to slow this disease progression, and surgical valve replacement is the only effective treatment. Calcific Aortic Valve Disease covers the contemporary understanding of basic valve biology and the mechanisms of CAVD, provides novel insights into the genetics, proteomics, and metabolomics of CAVD, depicts new strategies in heart valve tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, and explores current treatment approaches. As we are on the verge of understanding the mechanisms of CAVD, we hope that this book will enable readers to comprehend our current knowledge and focus on the possibility of preventing disease progression in the future.

As the diagnostic and therapeutic tools for the management of complex cardiac valve disease continue to evolve, the options for patients who previously had few choices continue to expand. Such advances have resulted in a renaissance in how Heart Teams approach problems and have been able to engage patients in shared decision-making conversations towards a common goal. While opportunities exist in the management of physiologically challenging congenital heart disease, the vast explosion of research and development in the area of aortic valve disease has offered new hope to patients for improving their quality and quantity of life. The goal of this text is to hopefully serve as a foundation for those who want to explore such topics in greater detail.

Calcific aortic valve stenosis is the most frequent valvular heart disease in Western countries, affecting up to 13% of individuals over 75 years. The disease is associated with considerable morbidity and mortality. It is characterized by fibro-calcification of aortic valve cusps and concomitant left ventricular remodelling due to chronic pressure overload, which can evolve into overt heart failure. It progresses very slowly until the onset of symptoms, the indication for aortic valve replacement. Today, about 300,000 aortic valve replacements are performed annually worldwide, either via surgery or transcatheter implantation. This is the only treatment shown to improve survival. There is no pharmacological treatment to prevent or slow disease progression. Major risk factors include older age, congenital anomalies of the aortic valve (bicuspid valve), male gender, hypertension, dyslipidaemia, smoking, and diabetes. However, how these factors contribute to the disease in unclear. Due to the disease itself, patients are at increased risk of both thrombosis and bleeding, which, in addition to advanced age and comorbidities, makes antithrombotic management of these patients difficult. Regarding valve prostheses, the ideal prosthesis either mechanical or biological still does not exist. Clinically available prostheses can lead to major complications, thrombosis or infection, which necessitate reoperation or cause death in 50-60% of patients within 10 years post-implantation. Hence, there are major unmet medical needs in CAVS and more basic and translational research is definitely required. Our Research Topic depicts major challenges and research paths that could be followed to address these major health needs.

Advances in Heart Valve Prolapse Research and Treatment / 2012 Edition is a ScholarlyPaper™ that delivers timely, authoritative, and intensively focused information about Heart Valve Prolapse in a compact format. The editors have built Advances in Heart Valve Prolapse Research and Treatment / 2012 Edition on the vast information databases of ScholarlyNews.™ You can expect the information about Heart Valve Prolapse in this eBook to be deeper than what you can access anywhere else, as well as consistently reliable, authoritative, informed, and relevant. The content of Advances in Heart Valve Prolapse Research and Treatment / 2012 Edition has been produced by the world’s leading scientists, engineers, analysts, research institutions, and companies. All of the content is from peer-reviewed sources, and all of it is written, assembled, and edited by the editors at ScholarlyEditions™ and available exclusively from us. You now have a source you can cite with authority, confidence, and credibility. More information is available at http://www.ScholarlyEditions.com/.

This book describes the different aspects of aortic valve and root diseases including comprehensive discussion of the state-of-the-art diagnostic imaging options, disease risk stratification, selection of candidates for valve repair or percutaneous intervention, and most recent therapeutic options. The growing prevalence of valvular heart disease represents a major challenge in terms of short- and long-term management and surveillance. Aortic valve diseases, including aortic stenosis and regurgitation, are among the most frequent of these, while the number of cases of aortic root disease is also on the rise. Aortic valve disease treatment options include valve surgery, valve repair, minimally invasive valve surgery, and percutaneous approaches and all are covered in this volume. Advances in Treatments for Aortic Valve and Root Diseases is a highly illustrated, case oriented reference aimed at cardiology fellows in training, while also helpful to surgeons, cardiologists, imagers, interventionalists, as well as other clinicians and students involved in the diagnosis and treatment of aortic valve and root diseases.

Aortic Valve Stenosis: Advances in Research and Treatment: 2011 Edition is a ScholarlyPaper™ that delivers timely, authoritative, and intensively focused information about Aortic Valve Stenosis in a compact format. The editors have built Aortic Valve Stenosis: Advances in Research and Treatment: 2011 Edition on the vast information databases of ScholarlyNews.™ You can expect the information about Aortic Valve Stenosis in this eBook to be deeper than what you can access anywhere else, as well as consistently reliable, authoritative, informed, and relevant. The content of Aortic Valve Stenosis: Advances in Research and Treatment: 2011 Edition has been produced by the world’s leading scientists, engineers, analysts, research institutions, and companies. All of the content is from peer-reviewed sources, and all of it is written, assembled, and edited by the editors at ScholarlyEditions™ and available exclusively from us. You now have a source you can cite with authority, confidence, and credibility. More information is available at http://www.ScholarlyEditions.com/.