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Review
. 2019 Apr;26(2):96-102.
doi: 10.1097/MED.0000000000000471.

Risk factors for valvular calcification

Hao Yu Chen  1   2 , James C Engert  1   2   3 , George Thanassoulis  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Risk factors for valvular calcification

Hao Yu Chen et al. Curr Opin Endocrinol Diabetes Obes. 2019 Apr.

Abstract

Purpose of review: Recent literature is examined to identify established and emerging risk factors for valvular calcification, specifically calcific aortic valve disease and mitral annular calcification.

Recent findings: Strong evidence implicates older age, male sex, cigarette smoking, elevated blood pressure, dyslipidaemia, adiposity, and mineral metabolism as risk factors for calcific aortic valve disease. Emerging evidence suggests family history and lipoprotein(a) are additional risk factors. Recently, large-scale genome-wide analyses have identified robust associations for LPA, PALMD, and TEX41 with aortic stenosis. Factors predisposing to mitral annular calcification are less well characterized. Older age, cigarette smoking, increased BMI, kidney dysfunction, and elevated triglycerides are associated with greater risk of mitral annular calcification, but conflicting evidence exists for sex and C-reactive protein.

Summary: Established and emerging risk factors for calcific aortic valve disease, including some that overlap with atherosclerosis, may represent targets for pharmacological intervention. Mitral annular calcification is comparatively less well understood though some atherosclerosis risk factors do appear to increase risk.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest

G.T. has received consulting fees from Ionis Pharmaceuticals and has participated in advisory boards for Amgen and Sanofi. The other authors report no relevant disclosures.

References

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Publication types

Supplementary concepts