Aortic insufficiency with mild ankylosing spondylitis in black men.

Two black male patients with aortic insufficiency were later found to have mild, asymptomatic ankylosing spondylitis, evident from roentgenograms and from the presence of HLA-B27 antigen. The two cases emphasize the even "subclinical" ankylosing spondylitis may have aortic insufficiency, and that the uncommon occurrence of ankylosing spondylitis in black patients may also be associated with this extra-articular manifestation.