First-degree relatives of patients with bicuspid aortic valve should be screened

Bicuspid Aortic Valve (BAV), a condition in which patients' aortic valves have just two leaflets instead of the normal three, is the most common cardiac anomaly, affecting up to two percent of the general population. The defect can result in calcification deposits on the heart valve, leakage of the valve and may results in a feeling of tightness in the chest as well as shortness of breath. The condition is easily diagnosed; often physicians can hear a 'click' or a murmur when they listen to a BAV patient's heart with a stethoscope...

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