Elastic properties of aortic wall in patients with bicuspid aortic valve by magnetic resonance imaging.

Bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) is frequently associated with aortic wall abnormalities, including dilation of the ascending aorta and even dissection. We propose 2 new indexes of aortic wall biophysical properties, the maximum rates of systolic distension and diastolic recoil (MRSD and MRDR, respectively), in patients with BAV and matched control subjects. We evaluated 53 consecutive young patients with BAV (36 males, mean age 16 ± 4 years) with mild aortic valve disease and a control group of 22 age- and gender-matched healthy volunteers.