The Clinical Significance and advantages of Stress Echocardiography in patients with moderate to severe aortic stenosis

In order to determine the clinical significance of exercise stress echocardiography in patients with severe to moderate aortic stenosis, a stress-induced increase in the mean pressure gradient across the aortic valve was recorded and myocardial contractile reserve was assessed using a number of parameters (ejection fraction, global longitudinal strain, elasticity index). It was found that, with normal values of EF at rest in patients with severe and moderate aortic stenosis, the deficit in contractile function was revealed using the GLS index, which demonstrated a decrease in both groups at the peak of exercise. A decrease in contractile reserve by both parameters (EF and GLS) was found in the group of patients with severe AS, which, combined with a significant stress-induced increase in the gradient on the aortic valve (≥18–20 mm Hg), an increase in pulmonary artery pressure (> 60 mm Hg) and decrease in systemic systolic blood pressure (>20 mm Hg) should be considered as a predictors of a poor prognosis of the natural course of aortic valve disease, and patients with similar stress test results should be possible candidates for surgical aortic valve replacement. A decrease in the in the LV elasticity index augmentation at the peak of exercise, strongly correlated with changes in other considered parameters of contractility and the metabolic power of exercise (MET), significantly complements the functional characteristics of the lesion for choosing the optimal management strategy. Consequently, exercise stress echocardiography is an indispensable diagnostic tool for determining the prognosis and timing of surgery in patients with aortic stenosis.