Abstract
The Doppler echocardiograms of the aortic valve and associated aortic regurgitation (AR) were reviewed in 72 patients with a ventricular septal defect (VSD). Group 1 comprised 13 patients without any deformity of the aortic cusp for ≥10 years, group 2 included 35 patients who did not develop AR for ≥10 years after right coronary cusp prolapse (RCCP) was first detected, group 3 comprised 11 patients with RCCP and AR in whom the AR remained subclinical for ≥10 years, and group 4 was 13 patients who underwent surgical treatment because of moderate to severe AR. The cusp imbalance index [width of right (R) or non- (N) coronary cusp/width of left coronary cusp (L)] was compared among the 4 groups. R/L or N/L was larger in group 4 than in groups 1-3; R/L exceeded 1.30 in all the patients in group 4, whereas it was less than 1.30 in all the atients in groups 1-3. Two patients in group 4 with non-coronary cusp prolapse had an N/L greater than 1.50. No other patients in any group had an N/L larger than 1.20. An imbalance of cusp width may predict possible progressive deterioration of AR. (Jpn Circ J 2001; 65: 500 - 504)
