Natural Evolution of Aortic Valve Regurgitation Following Surgery for Rheumatic Mitral Valve Disease

Objective The aim of this study was to assess natural course of rheumatic aortic regurgitation (AR) in patients who underwent mitral valve surgery. Patients and methods A total of 125 patients (84 women and 41 men, mean age 39.79.6 years) with mild AR at the time of mitral valve surgery were followed for a mean period of 8.425.8 years. AR was assessed preoperatively and during follow-up by transthoracic echocardiography Doppler. Mild aortic stenosis and mixed aortic disease were excluded. Results At the last follow-up control, 118 patients 94.4 % were in NYHA functional class I or II. Mean cardio-thoracic index (CTI) decreased significantly (p= 0, 002). Left atrium diameter also decreased (p= 0, 001) but no change was observed in left ventricular diameters. Of the 125 patients, 7 (5, 6 %) underwent reoperation for aortic valve replacement.5 of them had AR grade I that progressed to AR grade III in 4 cases and to AR grade IV in one case.2 patients had AR grade II developed AR grade III. Conclusion Our findings showed that concomitant mild AR after mitral valve surgery rarely progressed to significant AR over a long follow-up period.