[Prognosis of asymptomatic aortic valve stenosis evaluated with exercise test].

PURPOSE: to evaluate the exercise test as a prognostic factor for asymptomatic patients with aortic valve stenosis.

METHODS

During 60 months 70 patients with aortic valve area < or = 1 cm2 without any other heart lesion were studied. The patients underwent Dopplerechocardiograms exercise tests (considered positive in the presence of electrocardiographic changes or symptoms) and clinical follow-up in order to determine the onset of symptoms or sudden death.

RESULTS

The event-free probability was 50% after 16 months of follow-up. There was no relationship between the occurrence of events and the sex or to the transvalvar gradient. However, there was a statistically significant association between the incidence of events (p = 0.0124), valvar area (p = 0.0003) and exercise test results (p = 0.0001).

CONCLUSION

Patients with significant aortic stenosis even without symptoms, have a low survival rate and the exercise test is a good prognostic factor during follow-up.