American Heart Association Aortic Stenosis Initiative Extended 3 Years

DALLAS, Nov. 2022 — In a news release, the American Heart Association® announced the extension of its Target: Aortic Stenosis™ initiative, which seeks to improve the identification and quality of care of patients with aortic stenosis—starting at symptom onset and continuing through diagnosis, treatment, and management.

Aortic stenosis is a progressive heart disease involving a narrowed opening of a heart valve and, according to the American Heart Association, up to 1.6 million American over the age of 65 live with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis. Without a valve replacement procedure, as few as half of those patients survive more than two years.

The program initially launched in 2020 with support from Edwards Lifesciences at 15 sites across the United States in order to develop guidelines for optimal measurement to improve identification of patient with aortic stenosis, as well as provide multi-media educational and self-management resources for patients with structural heart disease.

Mariell Jessup, MD, FAHA, cardiologist and chief science and medical officer for the American Heart Association, noted the importance of the Target: Aortic Stenosis initiative. “Early identification and treatment of aortic stenosis can lead to longer, healthier lives… and the best practices developed as part of this initiative will ensure timely diagnosis and treatment protocols across the country and impact thousands of patients looking for improved quality of life and a chance for the best outcomes.”

Clyde Yancy, MD, MSc, FAHA, volunteer co-chair of the Target: Aortic Stenosis Science Advisory Group, and American Heart Association president from 2009 to 2010, said that, “this next phase of the Target: Aortic Stenosis program will work to scale the patient registry and recognition program and validate quality measures using continuous real-time site feedback and insights.”

Thanks to additional financial support from industry and nationwide medical centers, the American Heart Association initiative has been extended for another three years, and will include 80 hospitals across the United States. The program will expand on the efforts of the previous three year to create and validate best practices and grow the national aortic stenosis patient registry to serve as a valuable dataset for future research.

View the Full American Heart Association News Release