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Isolation of Mouse Interstitial Valve Cells to Study the Calcification of the Aortic Valve In Vitro
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Isolation of Mouse Interstitial Valve Cells to Study the Calcification of the Aortic Valve In Vitro

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Aortic valve calcium independently predicts coronary and cardiovascular events in a primary prevention population

David S Owens1, Matthew J Budoff, Ronit Katz

  • 1Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195-6422, USA.

JACC. Cardiovascular Imaging
|June 16, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Aortic valve calcium (AVC) independently predicts cardiovascular and coronary events in individuals without prior heart disease, likely due to its link with atherosclerosis. Further research is needed on AVC and cardiovascular mortality.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Preventive Cardiology
  • Atherosclerosis Research

Background:

  • Aortic sclerosis is linked to cardiovascular issues in the elderly, but mechanisms and relevance in younger populations are unclear.
  • The association between aortic valve calcium (AVC) and cardiovascular events needs further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine if aortic valve calcium (AVC) is an independent predictor of coronary and cardiovascular events.
  • To assess AVC's predictive value in a primary-prevention population free of clinical cardiovascular disease.

Main Methods:

  • Prospective analysis of 6,685 Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) participants (ages 45-84) without baseline cardiovascular disease.
  • Computed tomography used for AVC and coronary artery calcium scoring.
  • Cox proportional hazards regression analyzed the association between AVC and clinical events, with adjustments for demographics, risk factors, inflammatory biomarkers, and coronary atherosclerosis.

Main Results:

  • Subjects with AVC (13.4%) had higher risks of cardiovascular events (HR: 1.50) and coronary events (HR: 1.72) after adjusting for demographics and risk factors.
  • Adjustment for coronary artery calcium substantially attenuated these risks, indicating a strong correlation.
  • AVC remained an independent predictor of cardiovascular mortality (HR: 2.51) even after full adjustment.

Conclusions:

  • In individuals without clinical cardiovascular disease, AVC predicts cardiovascular and coronary event risk independently of traditional risk factors and inflammatory biomarkers.
  • The strong correlation between AVC and subclinical atherosclerosis likely explains its predictive power.
  • The association of AVC with excess cardiovascular mortality beyond coronary atherosclerosis warrants further investigation.
Abstract

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