What happens when your aorta is calcified?

Aortic valve calcification is a condition in which calcium deposits form on the aortic valve in the heart. These deposits can cause narrowing at the opening of the aortic valve. This narrowing can become severe enough to reduce blood flow through the aortic valve — a condition called aortic valve stenosis.

What can be done for aortic calcification?

Currently, the only established treatment for calcific aortic stenosis is surgical valve replacement. Due to the increasing number of ongoing basic scientific and clinical studies, the cellular mechanisms responsible for this disease clearly demonstrate that medical therapy may be an option for these patients.

Is aortic valve calcification reversible?

Currently no clinical therapy is available to prevent or reverse this type of vascular calcification. Some possible targets to block and regress calcification include local and circulating inhibitors of calcification as well as factors that may ameliorate vascular smooth muscle cell apoptosis [2].

Is calcification of the aorta common?

Calcification in the aorta is extremely common at your age. It is often first seen during a routine x-ray. No treatment is needed to remove the calcium, as it doesn’t pose a problem.

What causes calcium build up in aorta?

Calcium is a mineral found in your blood. As blood repeatedly flows over the aortic valve, calcium deposits can build up on the heart valves (aortic valve calcification).

How do you prevent aortic calcification?

Managing the symptoms of aortic valve stenosis

1. Eat a healthy diet low in saturated fat.
2. Exercise regularly.
3. Maintain a healthy weight.
4. Abstain from smoking.
5. Report any abnormal health issues to your doctor.
6. Visit your doctor for any severe sore throat to prevent rheumatic fever.

How common is aortic calcification?

Aortic arch calcification was present in 1.9% of men and in 2.6% of women. Its prevalence increased with age in both sexes (Figure 1). The sex difference was particularly apparent in participants who were 65 years and older; 10.6% of men and 15.9% of women in this age range had aortic arch calcification.

What causes calcium deposits around the aorta?

What is treatment for calcified aorta?

There are many medications on the market made to treat the calcification of the abdominal aorta; talk to your doctor about what medication is best for you. By taking medications such as statins and fibrates, you will be lowering your cholesterol levels and thus reducing plaque buildup within your abdominal aorta.

What are symptoms of calcification of arteries?

Coronary artery calcification (CAC) typically causes no symptoms initially, as the condition develops over many years. When blood flow reaches a critically low level, symptoms such as shortness of breath with exertion and chest pain often occur.

What are symptoms of calcification?

In rare cases, calcification can occur in the brain in what is called primary familial brain calcification disorder. This is a neurodegenerative disease that shows up in individuals in the middle of life, and can cause symptoms such as loss of motor development and slurred speech.

What causes aortic valve calcification?

This deposition of calcium can be caused due to age factor since the body becomes unable to process calcium and keeps accumulating it in the inner lining of the arteries. Some other causes of aortic valve calcification are smoking, drinking and the presence of huge amounts of cholesterol in the body.