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Aortic Valve Regurgitation

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What is Aortic Valve Regurgitation?

Aortic regurgitation (or insufficiency) affects one of the heart’s major heart valves, the aortic valve, which regulates the flow of blood from the main pumping chamber, the left ventricle, to the major blood vessel, the aorta.

In aortic regurgitation, the aortic valve does not close properly. This causes blood to leak back into the left ventricle. Over time, this leakage can cause the left ventricle to enlarge and weaken.

Symptoms of Aortic Valve Regurgitation

Most patients do not have symptoms. Aortic insufficiency is usually detected when your doctor hears a murmur or abnormal sound originating from your heart.

But symptoms can include shortness of breath (especially with activity), palpitations, heart pounding, or chest pain.

UR Medicine's Treatments for Aortic Valve Regurgitation

Treating heart valve disease is complicated. It takes a complete understanding of the condition—and all the treatment options—to make the right decisions about each patient’s care. That’s why UR Medicine has a center dedicated to valve disease and its treatments.

People with mild regurgitation and normal heart muscle function generally do not require treatment. Your doctor will recommend follow-up visits to monitor your condition and may prescribe medications to help reduce the amount of leakage and lower your blood pressure, if elevated.

In people with severe leakage who are experiencing symptoms, surgery to repair or replace the aortic valve is sometimes recommended.

UR Medicine offers the latest in testing tools, including Cardiac MR, CT scans, and echocardiography (transthoracic and transesophageal).

What Sets Us Apart?

We were the first program in the region to be recognized by the American College of Cardiology with its Transcatheter Valve Certification. This was achieved through a rigorous evaluation of our program's ability to demonstrate:

Better care
Better prognoses
Better quality of life
Faster treatment
Better communication with patients and families

The UR Medicine Advanced Heart Valve Center was also the first in the region to perform some of the newest breakthrough procedures.

The Cardiac Care Valve Center offers a full range of treatments for heart valve disease, and our surgeons are the region’s leaders in minimally invasive procedures, which can be effective for many valve repair surgery patients—even the most challenging repairs.