Aortic stenosis with coexistent aortic regurgitation – Causes

Aortic stenosis – rheumatic
Click on image for an enlarged view

In the following conditions, aortic stenosis can coexist with aortic regurgitation (aortic incompetence).

• Rheumatic
• Congenital bicuspid aortic valve
• Calcific degeneration of aortic valve
• Atherosclerotic degeneration of aortic valve
• Infective endocarditis in a case of aortic stenosis

H0w aortic stenosis and regurgitation can coexist?

• It can be explained by the following analogy
• Consider a normal aortic valve to be a door
• It closes and opens completely during each cardiac cycle
• Now consider the door to be stuck in the mid position
• It neither closes completely nor opens completely
• Similarly, when the aortic valve is deformed, both stenosis and regurgitation can coexist