[Aortic stenosis in the elderly].

Aortic stenosis is observed with an increasing frequency in the elderly. Main features in the elderly are the frequency of advanced stage of the heart disease, and of associated diseases, either cardiac, in particular coronary lesions, or extracardiac. This can explain that perioperative morbidity and mortality are higher than in younger patients. However, after the operative period, long-term prognosis is good. Life expectancy becomes similar to a general population and functional results are excellent. In case of symptomatic aortic stenosis in the elderly, the decision to operate should take into account an evaluation of the individual risk to benefit ratio, and avoid to differ the decision until an advanced stage of the disease.