ABSTRACT
Due to a constant increase in life expectancy, the number of patients with degenerative aortic stenosis (AS) is steadily increasing in Western countries. As represents the most common cause of left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) obstruction and has three principal etiologies: congenital, rheumatic, and degenerative. The aortic valve is mostly tricuspid, rarely unicuspid, bicuspid, or even quadricuspid. Age-related degenerative AS, formerly called senile AS, is the most common cause of acquired AS, whereas rheumatic disease is rarely the cause in Western populations. The development of degenerative, calcific AS shares the risk factors of vascular atherosclerosis. Patient selection plays a crucial role and needs to be performed in a systematic manner for every patient with a heart team approach. The heart team is composed of interventional cardiologists and cardiac surgeons. The Medtronic CoreValve consists of a trileaflet porcine pericardial tissue valve that is sutured in a self-expanding nitinol frame.
