Question

2. Aortic valve stenosis is a hardening of the aortic valve which makes it difficult to eject blood from the left ventricle. What effect does this have on the normal electrical and/or pressure events of the cardiac cycle?

In your answer, you should include terms and processes such as right atrium, tricuspid valve,right ventricle, pulmonary valve, pulmonary circulation, left atrium, bicuspid valve, left ventricle, aortic valve, systemic circulation, systole, diastole, ventricular systole/diastole, atrial systole/diastole, passive ventricular filling, “atrial kick,” isovolumic ventricular contraction,ventricular ejection, isovolumic relaxation, stroke volume, preload, afterload, pressure-volume loop, and physiologic vs. pathogenic cardiac hypertrophy.

Answer 1

The abnormal narrowing of aortic valve. The flow of blood to the arteries is impaired during this problem. Hardening of bicuspid aortic valve is most common cause of stenosis. The calcification, scarring leads to bicuspid valve stenosis. The blood flow is decreased from the right atrium to right ventricle due to this problem. In case of aortic valve it closes to prevent the back flow of blood back into the left ventricle. But during stenosis the valve allows leakage of blood. All these process affect the systole and diastole of heart.

The systole time of atrium is increased due to stenosis. And the diastole rate is also increased. The aortic stenosis can cause passive ventricular filling after the diastole. All of this can cause a serious heart disorder in the future.