What is the clinical evidence from this study?

Study design: Cross-Sectional. Population: Degenerative changes in heart valves and the vascular system (n=200). Primary outcome: Correlation between aortic valve damage and the duration of etiological factors (r=+0.77).

What does this research mean for the field?

Degenerative valvular changes and atherosclerotic vascular lesions in elderly patients are systemic in nature and strongly correlate with the duration of underlying etiological factors. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

May 25, 2026Open Access

Clinical and Echocardiographic Features of Degenerative Changes in Heart Valves and the Vascular System in Elderly Patients

Key Result

Clinical and echocardiographic evaluation in elderly patients revealed a strong positive correlation (r=+0.77) between aortic valve damage and the duration of etiological factors.

Key Points

This research aims to evaluate the clinical and echocardiographic features of degenerative changes in heart valves and the vascular system in elderly patients.
200 patients aged 60–85 years underwent clinical examination, echocardiography, and vascular ultrasound.
Echocardiographic and vascular assessments measured heart valve damage and systemic effects.
Correlations between degenerative changes and etiological factors were analyzed.
Arterial hypertension was found in 81.6% and atherosclerosis in 60.0% of patients.
Fibrosis of the aortic valve occurred in 70.4%, with a left ventricular ejection fraction of 51.3±6.8%.
A significant positive correlation (r=+0.77) was noted between aortic valve damage and the duration of etiological factors.

Study Design

Type

Cross-Sectional (n=200)

Structured PICO

What are the clinical and echocardiographic features of degenerative changes in heart valves and the vascular system in elderly patients?

Population

200 elderly patients aged 60–85 years

Intervention

Clinical examination, echocardiography, and vascular ultrasound examination

Outcome

Clinical course and echocardiographic features of degenerative changes in heart valves and the vascular system, and their relationship with etiological factorssurrogate

Degenerative valvular changes and atherosclerotic vascular lesions in elderly patients have a systemic nature and strongly correlate with the duration of etiological factors.

Main Result

Effect estimate: r=+0.77

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical course, echocardiographic features of degenerative changes in heart valves and the vascular system in elderly patients, as well as their relationship with etiological factors. The study included 200 patients aged 60–85 years. All patients underwent clinical examination, echocardiography, and vascular ultrasound examination. Arterial hypertension was detected in 81.6%, atherosclerosis in 60.0%, dyslipidemia in 55.0%, and diabetes mellitus in 40.8% of patients. Fibrosis of the aortic valve was observed in 70.4%, calcification in 48.1%, and thickening in 55.6% of cases. The mean left ventricular ejection fraction was 51.3±6.8%. A strong positive correlation was found between aortic valve damage and the duration of etiological factors (r=+0.77). Coronary artery lesions were recorded in 56.3%, carotid artery lesions in 40.0%, and peripheral artery lesions in 22.5% of patients. The obtained results demonstrated that degenerative valvular changes and atherosclerotic vascular lesions in elderly patients have a systemic nature. Echocardiography was found to have high diagnostic value in the early detection of degenerative changes and assessment of hemodynamic disorders.