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Bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) is a congenital heart defect found in 1% of the general population and is the most common congenital anomaly in children. BAV is associated with ascending aortic dilatation and cardiac events in young adults, but outcomes in children with BAV have not been studied extensively. Researchers at a cardiology clinic in Georgia reviewed serial echocardiograms in a referral cohort of 981 consecutive children with isolated BAV (mean age at diagnosis, 8.3 years) who were assessed from 1990 to 2009 (9427 patient-years of follow-up). Patients with other heart defects, genetic syndromes, or history of cardiac procedures during infancy were excluded.
Thirty patients underwent balloon valvuloplasty for aortic stenosis, and four…