Aortic valvular atresia. Associated cardiovascular anomalies.

The pathological anatomy of 109 specimens of aortic valvular atresia was reviewed for the purpose of identifying the cardiovascular anomalies associated with that condition. We found the most commonly associated anomaly to be coarctation of the aorta, which was present in 71 percent of our cases and judged to be hemodynamic significance in one-third of the involved cases. Other associated anomalies, in order of decreasing frequency, were mitral atresia, anomalous systemic and pulmonary venous connections, abnormalities of branching of the aortic arch, and ventricular septal defect. The study demonstrated that aortic atresia is associated with a significant incidence of other cardiovascular anomalies. Additional anomalies, when present, may complicate emerging attempts at surgical correction of this condition.