The aortic valve takes the shape of a half moon, contains three cusps, and separates the heart from the aorta. Each cusps, when connected to the wall of the artery, forms a pocket, which is the Valsalva pocket. Two coronary arteries arise from these pockets, and each balcony is named after the artery from which it originated. The aortic valve opens during the contraction of the heart muscle, and the driving force for this is the difference in pressure between the left ventricle and the aorta. The valve closes during diastole (when the chambers of the heart become larger).[3]
The most common cause of aortic stenosis is calcification of the cusps. Other causes include bicuspid valve (some patients have only two cusps instead of three), rheumatic aortic stenosis (currently rare in the West), and obstruction at the level of the aortic valve will cause increased pressure within the left ventricle of the heart , which will eventually lead to hypertrophy and dysfunction of the left ventricle.[4]
The best diagnostic procedure is echocardiography (echocardiography), but X-rays and ECGs may point to the presence of aortic stenosis.[5]
Aortic regurgitation, on the other hand, has many causes, such as cuspid degeneration, endocarditis, bicuspid aortic valve, aortic root dilatation, trauma, connective tissue diseases such as Marfan syndrome or Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which lead to complete closure of the valve during diastole, Thus, blood will return from the aorta to the left ventricle, acute aortic regurgitation (which results from endocarditis, or aortic dissection) will end with pulmonary edema; Because of the sharp increase in the pressure of the left ventricle, which will not have enough time to adapt to regurgitation, unlike chronic regurgitation, which gives the heart enough time to change its shape and enlarge, and this has catastrophic effects on the heart. Ultrasound examination (echo) here is the best diagnostic investigation, whether it is a thoracic echo, or through the esophagus.[6]
