Condition · 4 treatment paths
Aortic Stenosis
Aortic stenosis is narrowing of the aortic valve that obstructs blood leaving the heart. It is most often caused by age-related calcification, and sometimes by a bicuspid valve.
Send your imaging + plan. Board-reviewed opinion in 5–10 working days.
- Treatment paths
- 4Treatment paths
- Specialties
- 1Specialties
- Typical severity
- SevereTypical severity
About aortic stenosis
What to know
It may be silent for years, then cause breathlessness, chest pain, dizziness or fainting on exertion. A murmur is heard, and echocardiography measures the valve area and pressure across it. Once symptoms develop, survival falls sharply without valve replacement, so timely referral matters.
No medicine cures the narrowing, though blood pressure and heart failure are treated. Severe symptomatic stenosis needs valve replacement: surgical aortic valve replacement through open surgery, or transcatheter valve implantation (TAVI), which is passed through an artery and is often chosen for older or higher-risk patients. The heart team weighs age, anatomy and other illness. Recovery is faster after TAVI.
Pre-flight workup
Tests to have already done
- Echocardiogram showing valve area, peak velocity, mean gradient and ejection fraction, with the images where possible.
- CT of the aortic valve and access arteries, which is required to plan TAVI.
- Coronary angiography or CT coronary angiogram report, since coronary disease is often present.
- Record of symptoms: breathlessness, chest pain, fainting, and how they limit daily activity.
- Surgical risk assessment such as STS score, plus frailty, kidney and lung function.
Second opinion
When to get a second look
- You are being offered TAVI or open surgery without a discussion of age, risk and valve durability.
- You have severe stenosis with symptoms and have been advised to wait.
- Coronary disease is also present and may need treatment alongside the valve.
- You are under about 70 and the long-term durability of a tissue valve matters.
Talking to your doctor
Questions to ask
- How severe is my stenosis, and is it the cause of my symptoms?
- Am I better suited to TAVI or open surgery, and why?
- How long is the replacement valve expected to last?
- Do I also have coronary blockages that need treatment?
- Will I need a pacemaker or blood thinners afterwards?
- What happens if I do not have the valve replaced?
Outlook
Realistic prognosis
Without treatment, severe symptomatic aortic stenosis has a poor outlook, with survival often measured in only a few years. Valve replacement, whether surgical or TAVI, relieves symptoms and substantially improves survival. Recovery is faster after TAVI. Outcomes depend on age, heart function, coronary disease and other illnesses, and the durability of tissue valves continues to be studied.
01 · Specialties
Specialties that treat Aortic
Diagnostic workup
Before you pick a hospital, get the workup right
Picking the right treatment is downstream of a complete diagnosis. Skip steps here and the destination surgeon usually re-orders them anyway — at higher cost and another week on the ground.
- Confirm the diagnosis on imaging or labs
For aortic stenosis, plan on the workup your home doctor would order anyway — typically a recent specialist consult plus the imaging / labs the destination team will need to quote accurately. Anything older than 90 days usually gets re-done.
- See a cardiac surgery specialist locally first
An in-person clinical exam at home — even a single consult — costs little and dramatically improves the destination plan. Bring back: written impression, recommended procedure, surgical-risk class, and any contra-indications.
- Send us the file for a free second opinion
Two surgeons in our medical panel review the workup independently. They tell you whether they'd operate, watch, or refer — even if that means recommending against travel.
- Pick a path with timeline + cost in writing
Once a treatment is the right call, we line up 2–3 hospital options with itemized quotes, surgeon profiles, and a travel timeline. You hold the file — switch hospitals or step away at any point.
03 · Treatment paths
Treatment options
- Cardiac Surgery TAVI / TAVR (Transcatheter Aortic Valve) 4d stay 3wk recovery 96% success Compare hospitals
- Cardiac Surgery Heart Valve Replacement 10d stay 9wk recovery 96% success Compare hospitals
- Cardiac Surgery TAVR (Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement) 4d stay 3wk recovery 96% success Compare hospitals
- Cardiac Surgery Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement (SAVR) 8d stay 8wk recovery 96% success Compare hospitals
Where to be treated
Aortic Stenosis treatment by destination
04 · FAQ
Common questions about aortic stenosis
When should the valve be replaced?
Generally when severe stenosis causes symptoms, or when heart function starts to decline. Waiting too long risks heart damage and sudden death.
What is the difference between TAVI and open surgery?
TAVI places a new valve through an artery with a shorter recovery, while open surgery is more invasive but has longer experience. Age, risk and anatomy guide the choice.
Can medicines cure aortic stenosis?
No. Medicines can ease symptoms such as fluid build-up and control blood pressure, but only replacing the valve treats the narrowing.
Clinical context
Working up aortic stenosis properly
A condition like aortic stenosis is rarely well-served by jumping straight to treatment shopping. The sequence below is what a cardiac surgery specialist would expect to see completed — and the absence of any step is the right cue to delay travel decisions.
Diagnostic workup, in sequence
- First-line clinical assessment
History, physical exam, and risk-factor review by a senior generalist or cardiac surgery specialist. Symptoms list, family history, prior workup notes, and current medication list should travel with the patient.
- Standard imaging + labs
Baseline blood work, condition-specific imaging (ultrasound / X-ray / MRI / CT — depending on indication), and ECG / pulmonary function as relevant. Bring digital copies of any prior imaging — saves repeat scans and the cost that goes with them.
- Specialist diagnostic workup
Procedure-specific tests — biopsy, cardiac catheterisation, endoscopy, or genetic / molecular profiling depending on the suspected diagnosis. Done at the centre that will treat, ideally, so results integrate cleanly into the treatment plan.
- Multidisciplinary review (where indicated)
Cancer, complex cardiac, transplant, and rare-disease cases should be reviewed by a multidisciplinary panel — surgical, medical, imaging, and pathology — before any treatment commits. Single-discipline plans for complex disease are a quality red flag.
When to escalate urgently
- Acute worsening of established symptoms — sudden chest pain, shortness of breath at rest, neurological deficit, severe bleeding, persistent high fever.
- Loss of consciousness, severe persistent vomiting, or any focal neurological event.
- Symptoms in the early hours of onset that fit a time-sensitive treatment window (stroke, MI, sepsis) — every hour costs outcome.
- If you are travelling internationally for treatment and develop these symptoms in transit, divert to the nearest emergency department; do not wait to reach the planned destination.
Before you book international travel
- Confirm your specific diagnosis is fully worked up before you commit to a treatment plan abroad. Travelling for the workup is fine; travelling for treatment without the workup done is not.
- Get your case reviewed remotely by the destination centre's team before you book flights — credible international patient programs review imaging + reports before they confirm the surgical plan.
- Bring a digital + physical copy of your full medical record: imaging on USB drive in DICOM format, labs in PDF, current medication list with dosages, allergies, and any prior surgical reports.
- Plan for the post-op rehabilitation phase before you fly — the surgery itself is rarely the bottleneck.
- Confirm that follow-up imaging and any necessary in-person reviews can be done at home — a treatment plan that requires repeat international trips is more burdensome (and more expensive) than the headline procedure.
Methodology and editorial standards
This aortic stenosis overview is written by the editorial team from published Cardiac Surgery sources and lists 4 treatment options offered by hospitals on our network. The page shows its last-updated date. Clinical descriptions are editorial — your treating clinician confirms what's right for your specific case.
- Hospital data. Hospital details are compiled from public sources and hospital websites. Accreditation (JCI, NABH and others) is shown where we hold a record of it. Always ask the hospital for its current certificate.
- Doctor credentials. Qualifications, specialty and bio come from the doctor's hospital profile. Licence is checked against the national medical-council register only where the profile shows a "Licence verified" badge with a date.
- Prices. Price ranges are indicative, compiled from hospital price lists and packages and shown with the date last updated. The hospital's written quote is what you pay against.
- Clinical text. Written by the Medcasts editorial team from published clinical sources. Unless a named reviewer is shown on the page, it has not been reviewed by a doctor.
- Independence. Hospitals cannot pay to change their position on our pages.
Aortic Stenosis
Continue evaluating aortic stenosis care
Condition overview is one entry. These hubs route the same care decision via specialty, surgeon, treatment, and destination — including the doctors actively treating aortic stenosis.
- Surgeons Doctors treating Aortic Stenosis Volume-ranked specialists across all relevant specialties.
- Specialty Cardiac Surgery hub Programs, surgeons, hospitals across cardiac surgery.
- Procedure TAVI / TAVR (Transcatheter Aortic Valve) First-line treatment with success rates, recovery, hospital pricing.
- Procedure Heart Valve Replacement Alternative treatment path with cost and recovery data.
- Browse All 79 conditions Map condition → specialty → first-line treatment.
- Browse 9 destination countries Cost-of-care profiles, hospital programs, visa playbooks.
- Compare Hospital comparison Side-by-side accreditations, ratings, beds, and pricing.
- Compare Doctor comparison Surgeons compared on volume, fees, languages, video-consult availability.
- Tool Match-me triage Three questions, get a specialty + destination + 3-hospital shortlist.
- Tool Cost calculator Hospital-reported pricing across procedures × destinations.
- Action Free second opinion Independent panel review of your case in 48 hours — no charge.
Next step · Aortic Stenosis
Free second opinion on your Aortic case.
Share imaging and the current plan. Multidisciplinary board returns a written opinion within 5–10 working days — no obligation to travel.