Silent aortic regurgitation in systemic hypertension.

Mild aortic regurgitation (AR) is a common finding in echocardiograms. Although some early reports suggested that hypertension predisposes to aortic root enlargement and AR, other pathological and echocardiographic studies have not shown such an association. The incidence and clinical importance of mild aortic insufficiency in hypertensive populations is unknown. This case-control study was undertaken along with a literature review in order to explore the relationship between hypertension and trivial to mild AR. Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified the presence of hypertension, defined as being treated with anti-hypertensive drugs for some non-zero duration of time, as well as increased aortic root dimension as being significantly associated with increased odds for the occurrence of aortic insufficiency. It appeared that the chronicity of hypertension rather than the actual blood pressure value was associated with the development of AR.