Association of aortic valve sclerosis and coronary artery disease in patients with severe nonischemic mitral regurgitation

BACKGROUND: The presence of aortic valve sclerosis accounts for a higher rate of ischemic events and increased cardiovascular mortality. It may reflect coronary artery disease (CAD) because of a shared pathologic background. HYPOTHESIS: We aimed to analyze whether the presence of aortic valve sclerosis might help in identifying patients with coronary atherosclerosis among those with severe nonischemic mitral regurgitation (MR), who undergo coronary angiography before surgery for screening, and not because of suspected ischemic heart disease. METHODS: In all, 84 patients (mean age 64 +/- 9 years; 71% men) with mitral valve prolapse and severe regurgitation underwent echocardiography and coronary angiography. Aortic valve sclerosis was defined as focal areas of increased echogenicity and thickening of the leaflets without restriction of leaflet motion on echocardiography. Coronary artery disease was defined by the presence/absence of atherosclerotic plaques, independent of the degree of stenosis. RESULTS: Coronary artery disease was diagnosed in 47.6% of patients with and 15.8% of those without aortic valve sclerosis (p = 0.008). On logistic regression analysis, the presence of aortic valve sclerosis predicted CAD (odds ratio 3.3, 95% confidence interval 1.03-10.5; p = 0.04) independent of age. In female patients, the risk ratio for CAD in the presence of aortic valve sclerosis was 9. CONCLUSIONS: Coronary artery atherosclerosis and aortic valve sclerosis are closely associated in patients with severe nonischemic MR.