Aortic Valve

  I went to my doctor because I was having palpitaions due to the fact that I had strep throat.  Since I did have the strep virus, my doctor decicded to do an ekg, echo, and holter monitor.  When reviewing my results, he mentioned that my aortic valve was enlarged a slight bit, but nothing to worry about.  He said normal is like 4.0 and mine is like 4.1.  Could anyone explain a little to me what this means?  Is it because of the palpitations that is is slightly larger than normal? I would appreciate any feedback. Thank you.
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Dear Kath,
Thank you for your question.  During an echocardiogram all the structures of the heart are measured including the aorta.  Normal ranges for the aorta are from 3 to 5 cm.  Your test result is within normal range.
I hope you find this information useful.  Information provided in the heart forum is for general purposes only.  Only your physician can provide specific diagnoses and therapies.  Please feel free to write back with additional questions.
If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please call 1-800-CCF-CARE or inquire online by using the Heart Center website at www.ccf.org/heartcenter.  The Heart Center website contains a directory of the cardiology staff that can be used to select the physician best suited to address your cardiac problem.