A review of more than 24,000 people who had an EKG at the Mayo Clinic shows that almost a quarter of them had mitral annulus calcification, which is a long-term breakdown of tissue at the base of the mitral valve.
Mitral valve dysfunction was more than twice as common in those individuals, who were also at a higher risk of death from any cause.
Mitral annulus calcification has been linked to cardiovascular illnesses and events, as well as higher mortality rates, but its relationships with ventricular and valve function are less well understood.
New research from the Mayo Clinic indicates that mitral annulus calcification is a predictor of death and an indicator of valvular and cardiovascular disease.
The findings were published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
The following are some of the significant findings:
- Patients with mitral annulus calcification were more than twice as likely as those without to have moderate or severe mitral valve dysfunction.
- Mitral annulus calcification was linked to a greater mortality rate after comorbidities were taken into account.
- Patients with mitral annulus calcification and mitral valve dysfunction had the highest mortality rate.
- Patients with mitral annulus calcification and mitral valve dysfunction had the highest mortality rate.
“The association between mitral annulus calcification and mitral valve dysfunction is important to understand,” according to Patricia Pellikka, the study’s corresponding author, “because it affects treatment considerations for valve dysfunction.”
“Mitral valve surgery is associated with high risk for patients with mitral annulus calcification, in part because,” the author adds, “advanced age can be a factor.”
“Severe calcification makes mitral valve procedures more challenging to perform. Our study aimed to assess the characteristics and risk factors of mitral annulus calcification, and the prognostic impact of associations with mitral valve dysfunction.”
According to the study, out of 24,414 patients assessed with an EKG, 5,502 (or 23 percent) exhibited mitral annulus calcification.
In 16 percent of the patients, mitral valve disease was discovered. Females made up 54 percent of patients with mitral annulus calcification who also had mitral valve failure, and fragility was frequent.
After statistical adjustment, the presence of mitral annulus calcification was linked to a higher mortality rate. Regardless of the extent of mitral annulus calcification, mitral valve dysfunction increased mortality. However, patients with both diseases had the highest mortality rate, according to the study.
“Mitral annulus calcification has been known to be associated with cardiovascular disease and mortality,” explains the doctor, “but we did not previously appreciate the strength of this relationship even after adjustment for multiple clinical and echocardiographic variables.”
“Patients with calcification more commonly had not only mitral valve dysfunction, but also aortic valve disease.”
The author recommends: “For clinicians, suspicion for valve diseases should be increased and evaluations carefully performed for patients with mitral annulus calcification.”
Women and individuals with aortic valve disease, left ventricular outflow tract blockage, and renal failure are at the highest risk for mitral annulus calcification.
Patients with any valve dysfunction in the presence of mitral annulus calcification should see their doctor on a frequent basis. Periodic follow-up imaging is also recommended, and echocardiography is a good option, according to Dr. Pellikka.
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