title: Mean platelet volume is increased in patients with bicuspid aortic valve.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  It has been demonstrated that platelet activation occurs in patients with aortic stenosis. However, no study has assessed platelet activation in patients with a normally functioning bicuspid aortic valve (BAV). Therefore, we aimed to investigate relationship between platelet activation assessed by mean platelet volume (MPV) and normally functioning BAV.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-nine patients with isolated BAV and 25 age- and gender-matched healthy participants were included in the study. Patients with more than mild aortic regurgitation and aortic velocity >2 m/s were excluded from the study. For the entire study population, MPV was measured using an automatic blood counter.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared to control group, MPV value was significantly higher in patients with BAV (8.6 ± 1.0 vs 8.0 ± 0.8, p: .01). In the correlation analysis, there was a significant correlation between MPV measures with aortic stiffness (r: .32 and p: .01) and aortic elastic modulus (r: .37 and p: .003).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study results indicate that BAV is associated with elevated MPV values.
authors.affiliation: Ankara Ataturk Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Emine
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bilen
authors.forename: Ibrahim Halil
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Tanboga
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kurt
authors.forename: Umran
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Kocak
authors.forename: Hüseyin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ayhan
authors.forename: Tahir
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Durmaz
authors.forename: Engin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bozkurt
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001792:Blood Platelets / Q000166:cytology*; D055119:Elastic Modulus; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008943:Mitral Valve / Q000502:physiology*; D010976:Platelet Count; D059289:Vascular Stiffness / Q000502:physiology*