Aortic valve insuYciency may be caused by abnormalities of the leaflets, the root, or a combination of both. In some patients, the primary pathology is confined to the aortic root itself, the leaflets remaining anatomically normal. These patients have progressive dilatation of the aortic sinuses and, on occasion, dilatation and distortion of the annulus which results in valvar incompetence. Mos...

OBJECTIVE We studied the mechanistic links between fibrocalcific changes in the aortic valve and aortic valve function in mice homozygous for a hypomorphic epidermal growth factor receptor mutation (Wave mice). We also studied myocardial responses to aortic valve dysfunction in Wave mice. APPROACH AND RESULTS At 1.5 months of age, before development of valve fibrosis and calcification, aortic...

RATIONALE Aortic valve disease is a cell-mediated process without effective pharmacotherapy. CNP (C-type natriuretic peptide) inhibits myofibrogenesis and osteogenesis of cultured valve interstitial cells and is downregulated in stenotic aortic valves. However, it is unknown whether CNP signaling regulates aortic valve health in vivo. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study is to determine whether a ...

Bicuspid aortic valve disease is the most common congenital cardiac anomaly. The prevalence in the general population is between 0.46% and 1.37%. There is significantly high cardiac morbidity associated with bicuspid aortic valve disease, predominantly due to progressive valve dysfunction (stenosis or regurgitation) that requires surgical intervention for symptom relief or prevention of left ve...

A 26-YEAR-OLD symptomatic female patient with severe aortic and mitral valve stenoses underwent aortic and mitral valve balloon valvuloplasty in the same setting. Aortic balloon valvuloplasty was first performed retrogradely using a polyethylene 20-mm balloon (Mansfield, USA), and mitral valvuloplasty was performed antegradely through transseptal technique using an Inoue 28-mm balloon (Toray, J...

Quadricuspid aortic valve is a rare variant of aortic semilunar valve, often being an unexpected discovery during cardiac surgery. We present the case of a 59 years old patient, who was admitted for dyspnea on light exertion and palpitations. The transthoracic echocardiography revealed severe aortic valve regurgitation due to a quadricuspid aortic valve, the result being confirmed by the transe...

The disease conditions which cause functional change in the aortic valve include aortic regurgitation and aortic stenosis. The aortic sclerosis represents a thickening of the aortic valve, which could progress to the complete stenosis of the aortic valve if not managed. Aortic sclerosis is also considered as one of the markers for coronary atherosclerosis. The treatment involves conservative ma...

Aortic valve repair with either the reimplantation of aortic or root remodelling external annuloplasty procedure is most effective means treating regurgitation and/or aneurysms [...]

A 54-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital with recurrent chest pain for 1 month. She had a history of aortic root replacement with a stentless valve following aortic valve replacements done twice 12 years ago, and coronary artery bypass grafting 6 years ago. The stentless valve was implanted with the full-root technique. After admission, she was diagnosed with a saphenous vein graft aneu...

OBJECTIVE To investigate whether QT dispersion is a reliable index of the severity of aortic stenosis and left ventricular hypertrophy in the setting of aortic stenosis. DESIGN A retrospective analysis of the results of echocardiography and electrocardiography before and after aortic valve replacement. SETTING Tertiary centre. PATIENTS 36 men (30 white and six black) with symptomatic aort...