Asymmetric aortic valve is related to development of eccentric aortic regurgitation in patients with tricuspid aortic valve

Background It is unclear whether asymmetry itself plays a role in developing eccentric aortic regurgitation ( AR ) in patients with tricuspid aortic valve ( TAV ). The aim of this study was to determine whether an asymmetric aortic valve structure may have association with the development of eccentric AR in patients with TAV . Methods Of the 164 410 patients who underwent echocardiography between January 2006 and January 2018 at Dong‐A University Hospital, 306 (mean age 69.9 ± 12.6 years; 62% men) eccentric AR were identified. After excluding patients with bicuspid and prolapsed AV , 104 patients who had eccentric AR with TAV were enrolled for the study. Comprehensive echocardiographic AV cusp measurements were compared to those of 104 age‐ and gender‐matched control patients with central AR . Results In the eccentric and central AR groups, 66 (63.5%) and 48 patients (46.2%) had asymmetric AV , respectively. Mean cusp height was significantly larger in the eccentric AR group than in the central AR group (1.8 ± 0.3 cm vs 1.7 ± 0.2 cm, P = 0002). Furthermore, the mean cusp area and average asymmetry index of the cusp area were also significantly larger in the eccentric AR group than in the central AR group (2.6 ± 0.8 cm 2 vs 2.3 ± 0.6 cm 2 , P = 0.001, and 7.1 ± 4.5% vs 4.9 ± 2.5%, P < 0.001, respectively). Conclusion AV asymmetry indices of eccentric AR were significantly larger than those of patients with central AR . These data suggest that the presence of asymmetric AV might have association with the development of eccentric AR in patients with TAV .