Coarctation of the Aorta

Description of the Aortic Valve

Enlarge

The aortic valve connects the left ventricle and the aorta. The left ventricle is the chamber of the heart that pumps oxygenated blood to the body. The aorta is the main artery leading from the heart to the body. The normal aortic valve has three cusps (tricuspid) that open to let blood flow through and then close to prevent blood from leaking backward into the heart from the aorta. The aortic valve may be malformed such that it has only two cusps (bicuspid) or a single cusp (unicuspid).