Association Between The Progression Of Aortic Valve Calcification And Coronary Atherosclerotic Plaque Volume

Abstract Background It is unclear whether the annual progression of aortic valve calcification (AVC) is associated with the progression of coronary atherosclerosis. Purpose We explored the association between AVC and the total and compositional plaque volume (PV) progression. Methods We performed a prospective multinational registry of consecutive patients who underwent serial coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) at ≥2-year intervals. AVC, and total and compositional PV at baseline and follow-up were quantitatively analyzed. Multivariate linear regression models were constructed. Results Overall, 594 patients (56% male, 61.5±9.7 years old) were included (mean coronary CTA interval, 3.9±1.5 years). At baseline, AVC was 30.9±117.3. Normalized total PV at baseline was 122.3±219.4mm3, encompassing 41.9±116.8mm3 of calcified PV and 80.4±131.5mm3 of non-calcified PV. After adjustment of age, sex, clinical risk factors, and drug use, AVC at baseline was independently associated with total and all compositional PVs (all p<0.001). However, at follow-up, the annual progression of AVC was only associated with the annual progression of calcified PV (β=0.149, p=0.0089), but not with total and non-calcified PVs (all p>0.05) (Table, Figure). Conclusion The overall burden of coronary atherosclerosis is associated with AVC at baseline. However, the progression of AVC is associated only with the progression of calcified PV but not with that of total and non-calcified PV. Representative case Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: Public grant(s) – National budget only. Main funding source(s): The National Research Foundation (NRF) of Korea funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT)