A drug currently being trialed for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis has the potential to be the first ever drug to prevent aortic valve stenosis, a common and deadly heart condition that is estimated to affect around 50 percent of elderly adults in the United States.

Share on Pinterest Researchers may have discovered a drug that can prevent aortic valve stenosis.

Aortic valve stenosis may be caused by aortic valve calcification, a condition characterized by a buildup of calcium deposits in the aortic valve of the heart, which is most common among older adults.

Calcification can cause the aortic valve to narrow or stiffen. This can lead to stenosis, whereby blood flow through the opening of the aortic valve is restricted.

As a result, the heart needs to work harder in order to push blood through the aortic valve opening, which may cause the left ventricle to enlarge and thicken. Left untreated, aortic valve stenosis can lead to irregular heart rhythm (known as arrhythmia), cardiac arrest, and heart failure.

At present, an aortic valve repair or replacement is only way to eradicate aortic valve stenosis. But the new study may have discovered a way to prevent the condition, possibly eliminating the need for surgery.

Study co-author David Merryman, associate professor of biomedical engineering at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN, and colleagues recently reported their findings in the journal Circulation.