Study Population
We retrospectively studied consecutive 146 patients with chronic moderate or severe AR who underwent TEE for further evaluation of AR in our institution between April 2013 and April 2020. The exclusion criteria were as follows: age of less than 18 years, acute AR, previous history of ascending aortic replacement and/or aortic valve plasty, concomitant moderate or severe AS, evident previous history of infective endocarditis (IE) on any aortic cusp, and poor echo images. We collected the patients’ clinical information by reviewing their medical charts.