Aortic stenosis in women of childbearing age is usually due to congenital bicuspid aortic valve
disease, and it is often known prior to pregnancy. It may be associated with aortopathy. It may also be a
part of the Shone spectrum of left-sided obstructive lesions occurring at multiple levels. Therefore,
complete evaluation to look for coarctation of the aorta, aortic hypoplasia or interruption, subaortic
membranes, parachute mitral valve disease and supravalvular mitral membranes should be performed
with both echocardiography and MRI or computerised tomography (CT) scanning of the aorta. Patients
with symptomatic severe aortic stenosis or impaired performance on exercise testing should be
considered for surgery whether or not they are considering pregnancy, and they should undergo valve
replacement prior to pregnancy