AS is a prevalent form of heart valve disease that often progresses silently. Once AS becomes severe, it is associated with a high risk of sudden symptom onset and mortality. Your patients' health may deteriorate quickly once symptoms appear. Early detection through routine screening and timely referral is essential to identifying cases before they reach this critical stage.
Approximately 1 in 10 people age 65 and older and as many as 1 in 8 people age 75 and older are affected by moderate or severe AS.
“Once symptoms start, up to 50% of patients with heart valve failure die within 2 years without treatment.”
Wayne Batchelor, MD, MHS, FACC, FSCAI | Interventional Cardiologist Real Talk About Severe AS
Many patients are diagnosed in crisis
Up to 50% of moderate or severe AS cases go undetected until symptoms become severe, often resulting in emergency hospitalizations and urgent procedures. Early detection is your opportunity to intervene before patients reach a critical stage.
Signs of severe AS are often subtle and easy to miss
Symptoms of severe AS—such as fatigue, shortness of breath, or dizziness—are frequently mistaken for aging, frailty, or chronic conditions like COPD. With limited time and competing priorities that can impact clinical practice, severe AS can fall through the cracks.
Certain patient populations face greater risk of underdiagnosis
In the US, Black patients are twice as likely to go undiagnosed with AS compared to White patients, despite similar prevalence. Hispanic patients face an even greater disparity: being 4x more likely to go undiagnosed. Women are also disproportionately underdiagnosed as their symptoms may present differently than in men.
COPD=chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Undiagnosed severe AS increases the risk of rapid progression, diminished quality of life, delayed treatment, and even death. Your role in early screening and referral is critical to protecting patients from preventable outcomes.
Once aortic stenosis progresses to severe AS, the window for intervention narrows quickly.
Don’t wait for symptoms to appear. Screen proactively, because early detection can save lives.
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