A comparison between the inlet and outlet diameters of the normal aortic valve.

Two studies are described comparing the inlet and outlet diameters of the normal aortic valve. Both studies show the valve inlet to be smaller than the valve outlet. The first study is of measurements made on 12 casts of physiologically pressurised human aortic valves. The mean ratio between the diameter of the aortic ring and of the aorta just distal to the sinus ridge was 1.1, and the mean ratio between the diameter of the aortic ring and the maximum diameter of the valve leaflets was 1.18. The second study presents echocardiographic data from normal volunteers. The mean ratio between the diameter of the aortic ring and of the aorta just distal to the sinus ridge was 1.17. It is suggested that stents made to support the leaflets of prosthetic valves are made in conical or hyperbolic form, with the outlet being approximately 20% larger than the inlet.