The family condition

 With our family, I've noticed we start getting frail at 80 and pop off at 85.  My brother and sister are 13 years older than me, and anything they get, I get.  I've researched frailty for a long time, and it is caused by a million possible things.

Thanks to a world of over-scanning, someone had a full ct scan at 80, and it caught a calcified aortic valve.

A calcified heart valve occurs when calcium deposits build up on the heart valve leaflets over time, causing them to stiffen and narrow. This hardening restricts proper blood flow, forces the heart to work harder, and can eventually lead to aortic or mitral valve stenosis. [1, 2, 3, 4]

Key Facts About Valve Calcification

• Causes: Linked to aging, wear and tear, inflammation, and risk factors like high cholesterol, smoking, and high blood pressure (it is not caused by dietary calcium). [1, 2, 3]
• Common Locations: Most frequently affects the aortic valve, followed by the mitral valve. [1]
• Symptoms: Often silent early on, but later causes shortness of breath, fatigue, chest pain, dizziness, or a heart murmur. [1, 2, 3]
• Diagnosis: Identified and monitored primarily through an echocardiogram. [1]
• Treatments: Ranging from regular monitoring and medication for mild cases to surgical valve replacement or transcatheter procedures (TAVI) for severe stenosis. [1]

When calcification affects the aortic valve, it impacts the heart's primary "exit door". As calcium accumulates on the valve's three leaflets, they become stiff and less flexible. This progression directly determines how the condition is classified and managed. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

The progression typically moves through two distinct clinical phases:

Phase 1: Aortic Sclerosis (Early Stage)

• What it means: The valve has visible calcium deposits and thickening, but it is not yet narrow enough to block blood flow.
• Impact: The heart can still pump blood through the valve normally.
• Management: No immediate intervention or heart surgery is needed. Treatment focuses on managing general cardiovascular risk factors—like blood pressure and cholesterol—and monitoring the valve to ensure it does not narrow further. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

Phase 2: Aortic Stenosis (Advanced Stage)

• What it means: The calcium buildup has become so severe that the valve leaflets struggle to open fully, narrowing the exit path for blood. [1, 2]
• Impact: The left ventricle (the main pumping chamber) must work significantly harder to force blood out to the rest of the body. This extra workload can cause the heart muscle to thicken, weaken, or stiffen over time. [1, 2, 3]
• Management: Mild or moderate stenosis is monitored closely via regular echocardiograms. Severe stenosis requires intervention, which may include surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) or a minimally invasive catheter procedure called TAVI/TAVR. [1, 2, 3, 4]

The point of this being: they never notice this until you're dead.  At 85, with frailty, you may not live with the simple valve stent they put in.  Make a shitload of trouble and get it done at 80.

This may be a root cause of frailty.  This is caused by inflammation, and puts out inflammation.  More red wine is called for.

More advanced information like this and I'm good for 90.  Screw the great grandchildren!