Ventricular arrhythmias in aortic valve disease: analysis of 102 patients.

Frequency and grade of ventricular arrhythmias in patients with isolated aortic stenosis (AS) or regurgitation (AR) were determined by 24-hour ambulatory electrocardiographic monitoring. The occurrence of ventricular arrhythmias in patients with aortic valve disease was compared with that in matched control subjects without aortic valve disease. Complex arrhythmias were significantly more prevalent in patients with valve disease than in control subjects (40 of 102 vs 19 of 102); the significant difference occurred in patients without concomitant coronary artery disease (CAD). In patients with valve disease without CAD, complex arrhythmias were significantly more common than in normal control subjects (22 of 65 vs 4 of 64); in the presence of CAD, complex arrhythmias were as prevalent in those with aortic valve disease as in those without it (18 of 37 vs 15 of 37, respectively). Among patients with AS or AR, arrhythmia occurrence and grade of ventricular ectopic activity were not related to the degree of AS or AR, ventricular hemodynamics or the presence or absence of concomitant CAD.