A review of the epidemiology of aortic sclerosis

What is it about?

As people get older, their aortic valve (between the heart and the aorta) is more likely to become thickened and/or show signs of calcium inside the valve. This is called aortic valve sclerosis and can lead over time to narrowing of the valve, which can increase the pressure in the heart. In this review we combine a number of studies to show that aortic valve sclerosis is associated with an increased risk of heart attacks, strokes, death from heart disease, and death from any cause.

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Why is it important?

Although a number of previous studies have shown that aortic sclerosis is associated with increased risk of other cardiovascular events, the higher risk of stroke was related to other risk factors rather than aortic sclerosis itself. By pooling studies, we show that aortic sclerosis is a risk factor in its own right.