The Emerging Science in Valvular Heart Disease

By Gail Peterson, M.D.
Professor of Internal Medicine

I had the pleasure of moderating a session that highlighted research in valvular heart disease. One area of focus during the session was the identification of factors that might modulate the progression of this condition. Circulating soluble endothelial protein C recep­tor levels were found to be inversely associated with the severity of aortic bioprosthetic valve calcification. In another study, increased levels of oxidized phosphatidylcholine and lysophos­phatidic acid accumulation were associated with more severe calcification in pathologic specimens of native aortic valves. Finally, there might be differences in progression of valvular heart disease between black and white patients with advanced chronic kidney disease and mild aortic valve narrowing. Specifically, the progres­sion of aortic stenosis was reported to be more rapid among whites than blacks in one study presented during the session.

Novel imaging assessment of valvular dis­ease was another area of focus. In one reported study, characterization of the mitral valve via 3-D echocardiography deformation analysis was performed in different disease states and appeared promising. Another study assessed left atrial peak longitudinal strain and contraction strain and found significant LA functional re­modeling as assessed by these strain techniques even in patients with only mild mitral regurgi­tation, independent of the presence of heart failure.