Aortic insufficiency

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Heart, section through the middle Heart, front view Aortic insufficiency

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Aortic insufficiency

Aortic insufficiency is a heart valve disease in which the aortic valve weakens or balloons, preventing the valve from closing tightly. This leads to backward flow of blood from the aorta (the largest blood vessel) into the left ventricle (the left lower chamber of the heart).

Aortic insufficiency can result from any condition that weakens the aortic valve. In the past, rheumatic fever was the primary cause of aortic insufficiency. Now that antibiotics are used to treat rheumatic fever, other causes are more commonly seen.

These include congenital conditions (abnormalities of the valve which are present at birth), endocarditis (valve infection), high blood pressure, Marfan's syndrome, aortic dissection (a tear in the lining of the aorta), ankylosing spondylitis, Reiter's syndrome, syphilis (now rare), and other disorders.

Aortic insufficiency affects approximately 5 out of every 10,000 people. It is most common in men between the ages of 30 and 60.

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