Table 1: The aetiology of AR | Aetiology of acute and chronic aortic regurgitation |
| Acute AR | Chronic AR |
- Aortic dissection
- Infective endocarditis
- Prosthetic valve dysfunction
- Rupture of an aortic valve leaflet (e.g. trauma)
| Usually a bicuspid valve or supravalvular stenosis (suspect if isolated lesion in a chronic presentation) | - Calcific degeneration
- Aortic root dilatation
- Rheumatic fever/previous infective endocarditis
- Rare causes include: connective tissue diseases (Marfan’s syndrome, Ehlers-Danlos); autoimmune diseases (rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosis, ankylosing spondylitis); syphilis; appetite suppressant drug Fenfluramine [6]
|
Aortic regurgitation can be acute or chronic. The prevalence of AR in the Framingham study was 4.9%. The aetiology of AR is shown in Table 1.
