Contemporary Evaluation and Clinical Treatment Options for Aortic Regurgitation

Aortic regurgitation (AR) is the third most frequent form of valvular disease and has increasing prevalence with age. This will be of increasing clinical importance with the advancing age of populations around the globe. An understanding of the various etiologies and mechanisms leading to AR requires a detailed understanding of the structure of the aortic valve and aortic root. While acute and chronic AR may share a similar etiology, their hemodynamic impact on the left ventricle (LV) and management are very different. Recent studies suggest current guideline recommendations for chronic disease may result in late intervention and suboptimal outcomes. Accurate quantitation of ventricular size and function, as well as grading of the severity of regurgitation, requires a multiparametric and multimodality imaging approach with an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of each metric. Echocardiography remains the primary imaging modality for diagnosis with supplemental information provided by computed tomography (CT) and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR). Emerging transcatheter therapies may allow the treatment of patients at high risk for surgery, although novel methods to assess AR severity and its impact on LV size and function may improve the timing and outcomes of surgical intervention.