Plasma alkaline phosphatase is associated to mortality risk in aortic valve stenosis patients

Background aortic valve stenosis is an important clinical condition, with a significant mortality rate in the elderly. Plasma values of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) have been shown to act as a marker of prognosis in different clinical conditions and in the general population. Methods Plasma levels of alkaline phosphatase were studied in a cohort of patients with aortic valve stenosis, and a five-year survival evaluation was carried out. Results 24 patients were under study, of which 12 were dead at 5-year follow-up. The median age at baseline evaluation was 79 years (interquartile range, 72-85 years), and 11 patients were of the female sex (13 were male). The median value of ALP, of 83 IU/L, was used to separate patients into two groups; 2 patients died in the group with low ALP values versus 10 patients who died in the group with high ALP values. Using ALP with the same cut-off level, Kaplan Meyer study with log-rank analysis showed a significance level <0.01. Cox regression analysis showed an overall significant result, with a significant level for plasma ALP (significance level 0.03), but not for age, sex or transvalvular gradient (assessed by echocardiography). Conclusions Elevated plasma ALP is associated to increased mortality risk in aortic valve stenosis patients. This finding may merit evaluation in studies with a larger number of patients.