Last year Mom was diagnosed with aortic valve stenosis. The cardiologist called it "mild" and didn't say much other than to mention it. In her exam last week, he mentioned it again, but this time went over the treatment options. At 90 she is probably not a candidate for open heart surgery. There is another, less invasive procedure, but she may not be a candidate for that either. There is also the option to forgo treatment.
Although he still characterized it as mild, I got the impression that it has gotten worse over the last year.
So my question is: does anyone have any experience with this disease? I would just like an idea of how this might play out.
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I recall the cardiologist asking my mother how long she wanted to live for. Although she has alot of memory loss she said she wanted to continue to live on. Her case was not giving a long prognosis. It is done fairly regularly these days with success.
Since your mother's case is mild it's hard to know what to do at her age. It would be easier if your mother could describe symptoms. My mother spent years as a Christian Scientist so she is not good at all at describing medical symptoms.
I wish you the best going forward. Good communication with the cardiologist and hopefully your mother will help with making a decision.
I don't think he was trying to be pessimistic. I think he was taking into consideration that she is 90 and the condition is mild, so there might not be need for any action for years, by which time any kind of surgery would be too risky.
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