What Are Calcium Deposits on a Cardiac Aorta?

Calcification of the aortic valve, or sclerosis, is a condition that results from large calcium deposits on the heart’s valve to the aorta. This condition may cause aortic valve stenosis, a narrowing of the opening in a patient’s aortic valve.

Effects

• According to the Mayo Clinic, calcium deposits on the aortic valve may cause reduced blood flow through this valve, which can lead to chest pain or a heart attack.

Heart Disease

• Aortic valve calcification can be an early sign of heart disease, even if a patient does not have other symptoms of heart disease.

Risk Factors

• Calcification and narrowing of the aortic valve are more likely to occur in people over the age of 65. When younger people have these disorders, they are often caused by high cholesterol, a congenital heart defect or other disease such as kidney failure.

Tests

• Doctors may hear a murmur when they listen to the heart of a patient with aortic valve calcification. An echocardiogram may be used to diagnose aortic valve stenosis and a coronary calcium scan may be used to measure calcification amounts.

Treatment

• Doctors may prescribe cholesterol-lowering drugs to prevent aortic valve calcification from worsening. A severely narrowed aortic valve may require surgery to replace the valve.