Study of Aortic Valve Sclerosis as A Marker of Atherosclerosis in Acute Coronary Syndromes

Abstract

Introduction: Aortic valve sclerosis has been shown to be associated with increased incidence, chances of developing myocardial infarction and even death. The epidemiological risk factors causing calcification of aortic valves have also been found to cause atherosclerosis. Aim: To analyse the epidemiological risk factors causing aortic valve sclerosis which have been studied in details and analysed to see whether they cause any significant increase in the incidence of cardiovascular events. Materials and Methods: This prospective case-control study was conducted between 1st Jan 2015 to 31st Dec 2015 in NEIGRIHMS hospital and data for age, gender, socioeconomic status, hypertension, diabetes, tobacco use, Body Mass Iindex (BMI), cholesterol levels, Electrocardiography (ECG) changes and Ejection Fraction (EF) were collected and analysed by using SPSS software version 22. Results: Hypertension, diabetes, weight, BMI, hyperglycaemia and hyperlipidemia were not found to be significantly associated with aortic valve sclerosis in patients presenting with acute coronary syndromes. The presence of aortic valve sclerosis was also not associated with increased risk of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. Conclusion: The risk factors for atherosclerosis were found to be associated with the presence of aortic valve sclerosis more in the control group and hence finding of a sclerosed aortic valve in the apparent normal population might identify those persons at increased risk of developing coronary artery disease and appropriate preventive measures should be taken before the disease sets in.

Keywords

• coronary artery disease
• coronary events
• epidemiological risk