CARDIAC-VALVE CALCIFICATION - CHARACTERISTICS OF PATIENTS WITH CALCIFICATION OF THE MITRAL ANNULUS OR AORTIC-VALVE

Aims-To determine whether mitral annular calcification and aortic valv e calcification, with or without stenosis, are expressions of atherosc lerotic disease.Methods-The incidence of atherosclerotic risk factors was analysed in patients with mitral annular calcification and aortic valve calcification and in control patients from a prospective echocar diographic database of 8160 consecutive patients; 657 patients (8%) we re identified with mitral annular calcification and 815 (9%) with a ca lcified aortic valve, of whom 515 (6.3%) had stenosis with a minimal a ortic valve gradient of 16 mm Hg. In these patients, cardiac and vascu lar risk factors were compared with 568 control patients using multipl e logistic regression analysis. Results-Age (odds ratio (OR) varying f rom 5.78 to 104, depending on age class), female sex (OR 1.75), hypert ension (OR 2.38), diabetes mellitus (OR 2.85), and hypercholesterolaem ia (OR 2.95) were strongly and significantly associated with aortic va lve calcification without stenosis, as were age (OR varying from 8.82 to 67, depending on age class), female sex (OR 2.22), hypertension (OR 2.72), diabetes mellitus (OR 2.49), and hypercholesterolaemia (OR 2.8 6) with mitral annular calcification. Age (OR varying from 1.11 to 7.7 ), hypertension (OR 1.91), and hypercholesterolaemia (OR 2.55) were st rongly and significantly associated with stenotic aortic valve calcifi cation. Conclusions-Mitral annular calcification and stenotic or non-s tenotic aortic valve calcification have a high incidence of atheroscle rotic risk factors, suggesting they should be considered as manifestat ions of generalised atherosclerosis.