Aortic Sclerosis

Introduction

Welcome to the aortic sclerosis page. On this page we provide a definition, sample heart sounds and links to the training lessons available on this site.

What is aortic sclerosis?

Aortic valve sclerosis is a thickening or stiffening of the aortic valve without bloodflow restriction. Its frequency of occurance rises with age.

Aortic Sclerosis Auscultation

This is a loud murmur early in systole. It has a diamond shaped appearance when viewed on a phonocardiogram. The murmur is characterized by regular vibrations which give the murmur a musical quality ("cooing"). It is caused by turbulent blood flow into the aorta. S1 and S2 are normal. Diastole is silent. While aortic sclerosis can be detected by auscultation, echocardiography is often a better diagnostic method.