Severe valvular aortic stenosis in a 78-year-old woman

We present a case of a 78-year-old woman with severe valvular aortic stenosis which was diagnosed for the first time ever in our department despite the patient having been treated by general practitioners for several years because of diabetes mellitus. The patient complained of recurrent syncope, effort dyspnea and angina During echocardiographic evaluation calcified stenotic aortic valve with extremely high maximal aortic gradient (199 mmHg) was found. The patient was qualified for surgical intervention. She died several hours after aortic valve replacement because of an acute aortic rupture and massive pericardial bleeding.