Last Updated on August 19, 2026
Causes
Valvular causes
• Infective endocarditis Both aortic valve and aortic root are affected
• Rheumatic fever
•
Bicuspid aortic valve
Aortic root dilatation
• Marfan’s syndrome Both aortic valve and aortic root are affected
• Ehler-Danlos syndrome
•
Bicuspid aortic valve
• Hypertension
• Aortic dissection
• Ankylosing spondylitis
• Syphilis
Clinical Features
Symptoms
• Shortness of breath • Orthopnoea
•
Heart failure symptoms
• Paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnoea
Signs
• Wide pulse pressure
• Collapsing pulse
• Murmurs: Early diastolic
murmur
Eponymous signs
• Ashrafian’s sign
• Becker’s sign
• Corrigan’s sign
• De Musset’s sign
• Duroziez’s sign
• Gerhardt’s sign
• Hill’s sign
• Mayne’s sign
• Müller’s Sign
• Quincke’s sign
• Traube’s sign
• ‘Pistol shot’ femorals
• Rosenbach’s sign
• Landolffi’s sign
• Sherman’s sign
Investigations
• Echocardiography
Management
Medical
• Treatment of heart failure
Surgical
Indications
• Symptomatic + severe AR
• Asymptomatic + severe AR + left ventricular systolic dysfunction