A tropical climate can be observed in Nicaragua. Just as in the other Central American countries, there are two seasons: the dry and the raining season. During the dry season (January - June) there is virtually no rain and trees and plants start to dry out.
Causes of aortic valve regurgitation include: 1  Congenital heart valve disease. 2  You may have been born with an aortic valve that has only two leaflets (bicuspid valve) or fused leaflets rather than the normal three separate leaflets. 3  This puts you at risk of developing aortic valve regurgitation at some time in your life.
Hector I. Michelena, M.D., and colleagues are researching the genetics of bicuspid aortic valve disease. Dr. Michelena has requested samples from 300 Biobank participants with a history of bicuspid aortic valve disease and 300 Biobank participants without a history of bicuspid aortic valve disease. His goal is to improve the diagnosis and management of patients with bicuspid aortic valve disease.