Health's Book

Definition

Aortic insufficiency is a heart valve disease in which the aortic valve weakens or balloons, preventing the valve from closing tightly. This leads to backward flow of blood from the aorta (the largest blood vessel) into the left ventricle (the left lower chamber of the heart.

Symptoms

• Bounding pulse
• Chest pain, angina type (rare)
• Under the chest bone; pain may move to other areas of the body
• Crushing, squeezing, pressure, tightness
• Pain increases with exercise, and goes away with rest
• Fainting
• Fatigue, excessive tiredness
• Irregular, rapid, racing, pounding, or fluttering pulse
• Palpitations
• Shortness of breath with activity or when lying down
• Weakness, particularly with activity.

Note: Aortic insufficiency commonly shows no symptoms for many years. Symptoms may then occur gradually or suddenly.