Open AccessAortic valve sclerosis is an echocardiographic indicator of significant coronary disease in patients undergoing diagnostic coronary angiography
Author(s) -
Hsu SY.,
Hsieh IC.,
Chang SH.,
Wen MS.,
Hung KC.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
international journal of clinical practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.756
H-Index - 98
eISSN - 1742-1241
pISSN - 1368-5031
DOI - 10.1111/j.1742-1241.2004.00219.x
Subject(s) - medicine , cardiology , coronary artery disease , diabetes mellitus , confidence interval , coronary angiography , hypertriglyceridemia , angiography , population , aortic valve , radiology , myocardial infarction , triglyceride , cholesterol , endocrinology , environmental health
Summary Aortic valve sclerosis (AVS) is considered to be a manifestation of generalised atherosclerosis that involves the aortic valve. It has been associated with higher cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in a population‐based study. This investigation used transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) to evaluate the prevalence and significance of AVS in 357 Chinese patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD). This work reveals that AVS is an independent echocardiographic predictor of significant CAD in such clinical setting (O.R. = 3.18; 95% confidence interval 1.52–6.7; p = 0.002). Other independent predictors include male gender, diabetes mellitus and hypertriglyceridemia. The predictive value of AVS for the presence of CAD is more prominent in females and in subjects aged <65 years. The recognition of AVS on TTE should alert the physicians to the possibility of underlying significant CAD, and further evaluation with aggressive management is indicated, even though no angiographic documentation is available.