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Complications
By Mayo Clinic staffAortic valve regurgitation — or any heart valve problem — puts you at risk of endocarditis. Endocarditis is an infection of the heart's inner lining — the endocardium. This membrane lines the four chambers and four valves of your heart. Typically, this infection involves one of the heart valves, especially if it's already damaged. If the aortic valve is leaky, it's more prone to infection than is a healthy valve. You can develop endocarditis when bacteria from another part of your body spread through your bloodstream and lodge in your heart.
When it's mild, aortic valve regurgitation may never cause a serious threat to your health. But when it's severe, aortic valve regurgitation may lead to congestive heart failure. Congestive heart failure is a serious condition in which your heart is unable to pump enough blood to meet your body's needs.
- Aortic regurgitation. American Heart Association. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4448. Accessed July 9, 2009.
- Carabello BA. Valvular heart disease. In: Goldman L, et al., eds. Goldman: Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/148441160-6/860446560/1492/318.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2805-5..50080-X_3105. Accessed July 9, 2009.
- Ardehali R, et al. Valvular heart disease. In: Nilsson KR, et al. The Osler Medical Handbook. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2006. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/148441160-4/860446560/1387/28.html#4-u1.0-B0-323-03748-8..50017-8_181. Accessed July 9, 2009.
- Gaasch WH. Pathophysiology and clinical features of chronic aortic regurgitation in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed July 9, 2009.
- Gaasch WH. Course and management of chronic aortic regurgitation in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed July 9, 2009.
- Living with arrhythmia. American Heart Association. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/arr/arr_livingwith.html. Accessed July 9, 2009.
