Aortic regurgitation

Abnormal aortic valve development is one of the most threatening congenital heart diseases. Like a thief in the night, the patient might be struck by endocarditis after a visit to the dentist without using endocarditis prophylaxis. After all, he or she did not know the aortic valve was abnormal and hence leaking or stenotic, as the hemodynamic conditions are well tolerated and there were no symptoms [Figure 1]. In particular this scenario holds for congenital aortic regurgitation.