High BP is Linked to Aortic Valve Disease, Health News, AND HealthWorld

Washington DC. [USA]: It turns out that people with a long-term blood pressure problem present an increased risk of aortic valve disease – valve problems that control how blood is pumped from the left ventricle to the main artery . aorta.

In a recent study conducted by the European Society of Cardiology, researchers found that beyond a systolic blood pressure of 115 mmHg, each additional 20 mmHg was associated with a risk of aortic stenosis and regurgitation aortic superior of 41%. (AR) later in life. Compared to people with systolic blood pressure of 120 mmHg or less, those with a systolic blood pressure of 161 mmHg or higher had a twice as high risk of having AS and were almost twice as likely to be diagnosed with AS. be diagnosed during follow-up.

The results suggest that control of blood pressure, even at levels below the currently defined threshold for hypertension of 140/90 mmHg, could be a way to prevent these conditions.

AS is a condition in which the valve that opens and closes when blood is pumped from the left ventricle becomes narrower and stiffer due to calcium buildup. When this happens, the valve does not work properly, making it more difficult to pump blood to the rest of the body. AR occurs when the valve does not close properly, allowing the blood to return to the left ventricle.

During an average follow-up period of more than nine years, 20,680 of the 5.4 million patients in the study were diagnosed with AS alone and 6440 with RA alone. The average age at diagnosis was 64 years and 57 years for AS and AR respectively.

The patients included in this analysis were 30 to 90 years old and none had known cardiac or vascular disease at the time of their first blood pressure measurement.

An average of nearly seven blood pressure measurements per patient was taken during the study period, which allowed to estimate the actual blood pressure of the patient. The ability to collect data over a long period, combined with a large number of patients, makes it the first study of sufficient importance to study the link between blood pressure and aortic valve disease and its evolution with age. and blood pressure. .

The study shows that serious heart valve diseases that are common in the elderly are not simply due to aging. Long-term exposure to high blood pressure is a potent and potentially modifiable risk factor for aortic stenosis and regurgitation at all levels of typical blood pressure, and not only in those who are classified as suffering d & # 39; hypertension. Blood pressure should be considered a major risk factor for aortic valve disease, as is high blood pressure as a risk factor for atherosclerotic disease. This suggests that associations are causal, but this requires further confirmation.

The results appeared in the Journal of European Heart.