Aortic angiography Aortic angiography, which may be performed during a cardiac catheterization procedure, may provide useful information regarding the severity of the patient's AR. Traditional angiographic grading is as follows:

• Mild (1+) - A small amount of contrast enters the LV during diastole and clears with each systole
• Moderate AR (2+) - Contrast enters the LV with each diastole, but the LV chamber is less dense than the aorta Moderately
• severe AR (3+) - The LV chamber is equal in density to the ascending aorta.
• Severe AR (4+) - Complete, dense opacification of the LV chamber occurs on the first beat, and the LV is more densely opacified than the ascending aorta