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Commentary 1 on "Bicuspid aortic valve in competitive athletes"
King’s College Hospital, London, UK; ssharma21@hotmail.com
Bicuspid aortic valve in competitive athletes
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
This large cross-sectional study of non-elite athletes observed a prevalence of bicuspid aortic valve of 2.5%, which is, not surprisingly, similar to that in the general population. Of the athletes with bicuspid aortic valve, 85% had valvular dysfunction—predominantly aortic regurgitation. Although only 19% of cases were detected with auscultation, both cases of associated aortic stenosis were identified. Interestingly, 81% of cases had aortic root dilatation, a recognised association that cannot be detected with auscultation, 12-lead ECG or a limited exercise test. The results indicate that early identification of this congenital abnormality and subsequent echocardiographic surveillance would be useful in unravelling the natural history of aortic valve degeneration and aortic root dilatation in athletes, and the appropriate disqualification of those athletes from sport who exhibit rapid progression of aortic valve degeneration or aortic root dilatation. Echocardiography in all athletes may be ideal but is currently impractical given the resources required and
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Br. J. Sports Med. 2008 42: 31-35.[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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