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Cardiac and arterial calcifications and all-cause mortality in the elderly: the PROTEGER Study

Yi Zhang1, Michel E Safar, Pierre Iaria

  • 1Paris Descartes University, AP-HP, Diagnosis and Therapeutic Center, Hôtel-Dieu, Paris, France.

Atherosclerosis
|October 23, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Cardiac calcifications, particularly mitral annular calcification, significantly predict mortality in high-risk elderly individuals. Arterial calcifications have high prevalence but low predictive value for overall mortality.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Gerontology
  • Vascular Biology

Background:

  • Cardiovascular calcifications are common in aging populations.
  • The prognostic significance of different types of calcification requires further elucidation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between the presence and extent of cardiovascular calcifications and overall mortality.
  • To differentiate the predictive value of cardiac versus arterial calcifications for all-cause mortality.

Main Methods:

  • A cohort of 331 high-risk elderly subjects underwent ultrasonography to assess cardiac (mitral annulus, aortic valve) and arterial calcifications.
  • All-cause mortality was tracked over a mean follow-up of 378 days.

Main Results:

  • A simple calcification score was significantly associated with all-cause mortality, independent of other risk factors.
  • Cardiac calcifications (36% prevalence) significantly predicted mortality (HR=1.92), while arterial calcifications (>89% prevalence) had negligible prognostic value.
  • Mitral annular calcification was a significant predictor of total mortality (HR=1.61).

Conclusions:

  • The extent of calcification is independently associated with all-cause mortality in frail elderly individuals.
  • Cardiac calcifications, despite lower prevalence, possess higher predictive value for mortality compared to arterial calcifications.
Abstract

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