Aortic cusp abnormality

Cusp abnormality, which may be caused by:

• rheumatic valvulitis:
  • vegetations appear on the aortic cusps during acute rheumatic fever
  • following the acute valvulitis there is fibrotic shrinkage, causing aortic regurgitation and stenosis
    
    
• congenital:
  • often the valve is bicuspid as well as deficient
  • sometimes a ventricular septal defect may cause prolapse of the associated cusp
    
    
• infective endocarditis:
  • usually occurs on an abnormal valve
  • occasionally a normal valve is the site of an infection in either older patients with degenerative changes, drug addicts or with infection with virulent organisms e.g. staphylococcus