Aortic stenosis associated with gastrointestinal bleeding. A survey of 612 patients.

A retrospective study was done in order to examine the association between aortic stenosis (AS) and gastrointestinal tract (GIT) bleeding. Four groups of patients included a group of 152 patients with AS, a control group of 152 patients with MS, and another two groups of 154 patients each with and without GIT bleeding. GIT bleeding of known and of idiopathic sources was significantly more prevalent among patients with AS (three and four patients, respectively) than among those with MS (none). Moreover, AS was significantly more prevalent in association with idiopathic GIT bleeding (seven out of 24, 29.1%), in comparison to its association with bleeding from a known source (two out of 130, 1.5%), and its incidence in routinely admitted patients without GIT bleeding (three out of 154, 1.9%). This study supports the assumption that GIT bleeding may be associated with AS.