I was looking to see if the internet had any further information on aortic stenosis and cures/improvements thereof, rather than surgery.

Just looking, mind you, to learn more about what is wrong with my heart and can I do anything as a patient person to improve the condition of the valve.

Well, there's lots and lots of stuff out there--millions of hits. I concentrated on information from NIH, Mayo Clinic, WebMD--sources that I trust.

They all had the same recommendations you've heard a million times--stop smoking, lose weight, exercise, and eat a heart-healthy diet (all of which I'm doing).

I dug a little deeper. I learned about the role of calcium and vitamin D2 in development of atherosclerosis in general and aortic stenosis in particular.

The vitamin D2 that was given to the animals in the study was enormous (5,000 IU daily), especially when you consider the small size of the creatures. And they were fed a high cholesterol diet. All the control groups were in place (blah, blah, blah--I won't bore you with that).

The interesting part was that stenosis of the valve did not develop in any of the animals except those whith high cholerterol AND the high vitamin D2, even for those with diffuse calcium deposits.

Interesting. Would lead me to think that major supplementation with D2 in people with high cholesterol not a good idea.

Conclusion of the study: "These findings support the hypothesis that a combination of atherosclerotic and calcifying factors is necessary to induce aortic valve stenosis in this model."

BI days (before internet), I would never have come across this study. My cardiologist never mentioned anything about vitamin D2 supplementation or calcification. He was totally focused on convincing me to take the statins, and the inevitability of surgery within 5 years.

I wonder if he is going to be open to a discussion.