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 <1cm² 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 occurence 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.
aortic valve stenosis; ergometric test; Doppler echocardiography
