[The significance of subclinical forms of aortic regurgitation detected during Doppler echocardiography].

To clarify prognosis and therapeutic approaches to mild and moderate aortal regurgitations (AR) silent clinically but identified at Doppler echocardiography, the authors followed up for 3 years 35 AR patients aged 22-73 years. AR and left ventricular function (LVF) were measured on echocardiograph Sonos-1000 (Hewlett-Packard, USA). Mild AR had a favourable prognosis, LVF remained intact, no symptoms of AR occurred. Moderate AR manifested with a trend to increased end-diastolic and stroke volume of the left ventricle. Aortal failure progressed rapidly in 4 patients with moderate AR in active valvular inflammation and progressed slowly in 3 patients with atherosclerosis and dilatation of the aortic root. It is concluded that patients with moderate AR detected at echocardiography should be followed up to control unfavourable developments.