title: Surgery for chronic aortic regurgitation: when should it be considered?
abstract: Deciding when to operate on a patient with chronic aortic regurgitation may be extremely difficult. The timing of surgery requires consideration of the etiology and pathophysiology of the aortic regurgitation, because aortic valve replacement carries morbidity and mortality that must be weighed against the potential problems of continued medical management. Guidelines for the use of surgery in patients with valvular disease have been developed by a joint task force of the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association. Practical recommendations based on these guidelines are presented.
authors.affiliation: University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine, USA. mellac@earthlink.com
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Cheitlin
mesh_terms: D001021:Aortic Valve / Q000601:surgery*; D001022:Aortic Valve Insufficiency / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D019918:Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation; D006801:Humans; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D012307:Risk Factors