title: Aortic valve sclerosis is a sign of increased arterial stiffness in clinically asymptomatic subjects.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Classic risk scores may under estimate the risk of cardiovascular (CV) events in specific risk groups requiring appropriate medical and interventional treatment. Arterialstiffness has been known as a sign of CV risk and has a predictive value for CV events beyond classic CV risk factors. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relation between thecardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) that has been recently reported as a new surrogate marker of arterial stiffness and aortic valve sclerosis (AVS).
  
  
  METHODS
  Eighty patients with AVS and 80 control subjects were enrolled to the study. Arterial stiffness was evaluated by VaSera-1000 CAVI instrument and AVS was defined by echocardiography as thickening and calcification of the normal trileaflet aortic valve without obstruction to the left ventricular outflow.
  
  
  RESULTS
  CAVI was significantly higher in patients with AVS compared to the control subjects (10.5 ± 2.7 vs. 8.6 ± 1.4, p < 0.001). Higher frequency of AVS was detected in patients with abnormal than borderline and normal CAVI values (69% vs. 27% and 20%, respectively, p < 0.001). In univariate analysis, there was a significant association between AVS and CAVI (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.44-2.48, p < 0.001]. Multivariate analysis demonstrated CAVI (95% CI 1.39-2.44, p < 0.001) as an independent determinant of AVS.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Detection of increased arterial stiffness could prevent patients from being mistakenly classified as at low or moderate risk, when they actually are at high risk. Assessment of aortic valve during echocardiography examination may offer the opportunity to identify these subjects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Ahi Evren Cardiovascular and ThoracicSurgery Training and Research Hospital, Trabzon, Turkey. l.korkmaz@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Levent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Korkmaz
authors.forename: Mustafa Tarık
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Ağaç
authors.forename: Huseyin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bektas
authors.forename: Mustafa Oguz
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Varol
authors.forename: Hakan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Erkan
authors.forename: Zeydin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Acar
authors.forename: Devrim
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kurt
authors.forename: Şükrü
authors.initials: Ş
authors.lastname: Çelik
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D055109:Ankle Brachial Index; D001021:Aortic Valve / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D058070:Asymptomatic Diseases; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006349:Heart Valve Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D012598:Sclerosis; D014463:Ultrasonography; D059289:Vascular Stiffness