Symptoms:

Most of the time, bicuspid aortic valve is not diagnosed in infants or children because it causes no symptoms. However, the abnormal valve can leak or become narrow.

Symptoms of such complications may include:

• Baby or child tires easily
• Chest pain
• Difficulty breathing
• Rapid and irregular heartbeat (palpitations)
• Loss of consciousness (fainting)
• Pale skin

If a baby has other congenital heart problems, they may cause symptoms that will lead to the discovery of a bicuspid aortic valve.

Signs and tests:

Signs of a bicuspid aortic valve may include:

• Enlarged heart
• Heart murmur
• Weak pulse in the wrists and ankles

Tests that may show a bicuspid aortic valve include:

• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the heart
• Ultrasound of the heart (echocardiogram)

If the health care provider suspects complications or additional heart defects, other tests may include:

• Chest x-rays
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
• Test of the electrical activity in the heart (electrocardiogram)
• X-ray of the heart's blood vessels using a special dye (angiography)