title: Pathogenesis of calcific aortic valve disease: a disease process comes of age (and a good deal more).
abstract: Over the past 10 to 15 years, calcific aortic valve disease, which includes aortic sclerosis and aortic stenosis, has come to be recognized as an active process, based on: (1) epidemiologic studies demonstrating associations of specific risk factors with increased prevalence or rate of progression of aortic valve disease; (2) identification, in valve lesions, of histopathologic features of chronic inflammation, lipoprotein deposition, renin-angiotensin system components, and molecular mediators of calcification; and (3) identification of cell-signaling pathways and genetic factors that may participate in valve disease pathogenesis. These studies will be reviewed and organized into a proposed global hypothesis for the pathogenesis of calcific aortic valve disease.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Box 356422, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-6422, USA. cardiac@u.washington.edu
authors.forename: Kevin D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: O'Brien
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001021:Aortic Valve; D002114:Calcinosis / Q000209:etiology*; D006349:Heart Valve Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans