UMEM Educational Pearls

Category: Cardiology

Title: acute aortic regurgitation

Keywords: aortic, regurgitation, valvular disorders (PubMed Search)

Posted: 8/15/2009 by Amal Mattu, MD (Updated: 4/24/2024)
Click here to contact Amal Mattu, MD

Acute aortic regurgitation pearls:
1. Most common cause is infective endocarditis
2. Also consider thoracic aortic dissection (chest pain plus new diastolic murmur)
3. Is the most common post-traumatic valvulopathy (chest trauma plus new diastolic murmur)
4. Presentation: diastolic decrescendo murmur at upper sternal border, may radiate to neck, hypotension, pulmonary edema
5. Treatment: get them to the OR! in the meantime, use vasopressors to support BP and afterload reduction to improve the pulmonary edema