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Quadricuspid aortic valve: report of three cases
Masakazu Teragaki1, Yosuke Sakai, Koichiro Asawa
1Department of Internal Medicine and Cardiology, Wakakusa Daiichi Hospital, 1-6, Wakakusa-cho, Higashi-osaka, 579-8056, Japan. teragaki@med.osaka-cu.ac.jp
The American Journal of the Medical Sciences
|November 17, 2004
Summary
Quadricuspid aortic valve (QAV) is a rare congenital defect. This study highlights anatomical variations and suggests infective endocarditis may be a common complication in patients with QAV.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Congenital Heart Disease
- Medical Malformations
Background:
- Quadricuspid aortic valve (QAV) is an exceptionally rare congenital heart malformation.
- Limited data exists regarding QAV's anatomical variations and associated complications.
Observation:
- Three patients with QAV were studied, including one potentially the oldest reported case.
- One patient presented with aortic regurgitation, aortic stenosis, and healed infective endocarditis.
- All observed QAVs featured cusps of equal size.
Findings:
- Anatomical variations in QAV appear similar to those in quadricuspid pulmonary valves.
- Infective endocarditis is a potential and not infrequent complication of QAV.
- Equal cusp size was a consistent observation in the studied QAV cases.
Implications:
- Further research into QAV anatomical variations is warranted.
- Increased clinical vigilance for infective endocarditis in QAV patients is recommended.
- Understanding QAV variations can improve diagnostic accuracy and patient management.