• Centers and Departments
• Back to Diseases and Conditions
• Aortic Valve Disease
• Aortic Insufficiency
  • Signs and Symptoms
  • Risk Factors
  • Causes
  • Diagnosis
  • Treatment
  • Physicians and Services
• Aortic Stenosis
• Bicuspid Aortic Valve
• Endocarditis

Risk Factors

Major Risk Factors

• Aortic insufficiency is most often seen in men between the ages of 30 and 50, although it can afflict men and women of any age.
  
• Your risk is increased if your aortic valve already has been damaged by some other condition such as endocarditis or rheumatic fever.

Other Risk Factors

• Having been born with a unicuspid (one flap) or bicuspid (two flap) valve
  
• Family history of aortic insufficiency
  
• Marfan syndrome
  
• Syphilis
  
• Ankylosing spondylitis (a spine disorder)
  
• High blood pressure