title: Aortic valve disease: preventable or inevitable?
abstract: Calcific aortic valve stenosis is the most frequent valve disease and the most common cause of aortic valve replacement in the western world, concomitant with aging of the general population and habitual consumption of a high-calorie diet. For years it was considered to be a passive wear and tear process but now it is recognized as an active process similar to atherosclerosis with involvement of several mediators, such as adhesion molecules, TGFs, cathepsin enzymes and bone regulatory proteins. As conviction grew that aortic stenosis has a genesis similar to atherosclerosis, the hypothesis that statins might be able to alter the progression of the disease also grew. Various retrospective studies confirmed the benefits of statin use at an earlier stage of the disease, but some disappointing results were demonstrated by randomized clinical trials.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Diseases, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, 13400 E Shea Blvd, Scottsdale, AZ 85259, USA. mookadam.farouk@mayo.edu
authors.forename: Farouk
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mookadam
authors.forename: Uzma
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Jalal
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wilansky
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D001024:Aortic Valve Stenosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000601:surgery; D015415:Biomarkers; D002114:Calcinosis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002403:Cathepsins; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D018450:Disease Progression; D019918:Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007249:Inflammation; D012307:Risk Factors; D015291:Transforming Growth Factors
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; D015291:Transforming Growth Factors; D002403:Cathepsins