How do you counsel a competitive athlete with a bicuspid aortic valve and a mildly dilated ascending aorta about continued sports participation?

These are complicated cases. The size of the aorta, the sport they play, somewhat the morphology of the valve, and whether there is prior imaging to show stability of the aortic size.

Genetic testing can play a role, but the BAV (bicuspid aortic valve) seems most likely the culprit.

They often benef...