A CASE OF GASTROINTESTINAL-BLEEDING ASSOCIATED WITH CALCIFIC AORTIC-STENOSIS

Gastrointestinal bleeding is not rare in patients with calcific aortic stenosis (AS) in Western countries, which has suggested an associatio n between the two conditions. However, there has been no previous repo rt of this association in Japan. In this report we describe a patient with AS who had recurrent gastrointestinal bleeding. An 84-year-old fe male who had been followed for severe AS presented with recurrent rect al bleeding, but the site of bleeding could not be detected despite va rious examinations, including endoscopy. She died of progressive heart failure during hospitalization. Postmortem examination disclosed seve re left ventricular hypertrophy with calcific aortic stenosis. Microsc opically, angiodysplastic lesions were observed in the submucosa throu ghout the gastrointestinal tract.