Association between mitral annular calcium and carotid artery stenosis androle of age and gender

It has been previously suggested that mitral annular calcium (MAC) can be s imply considered as a form of atherosclerosis in the elderly.(1) Calcitic d eposits in the mitral annular area are often observed only in populations t hat develop significant atherosclerosis. Several echocardiographic and angi ographic studies in the past years confirmed this hypothesis, demonstrating a significant association between MAC and coronary artery disease,(2-4) ao rtic atheroma,(5) and peripheral arterial atherosclerotic disease.(6) With regard to the association between MAC and carotid artery disease, to our kn owledge only I published study is available.(7) In that study, Adler et al( 2) found a significantly higher prevalence of carotid artery stenosis in pa tients with MAC than in the control group. The association between MAC and carotid artery disease could partially explain the increased risk of stroke observed in patients with MAC.(8-10) The present study evaluates the exten t of the association of MAC and carotid artery stenosis in an Italian popul ation and assesses whether factors such as age and gender could play a spec ific role in this association.