Aortic regurgitation is the diastolic flow of blood from the aorta into the left ventricle.
Incompetent closure of the aortic valve can result from intrinsic disease of the cusp, diseases of the aorta, or trauma. Aortic regurgitation may be a chronic disease process or it may occur acutely, presenting as heart failure. The most common cause of chronic aortic regurgitation used to be rheumatic heart disease, but presently it is most commonly bacterial endocarditis. Diastolic reflux through the aortic valve can lead to left ventricular volume overload. The severity of the aortic regurgitation is dependent on the diastolic valve area, the diastolic pressure gradient between the aorta and left ventricle, and the duration of diastole.