Relationship Between Plaque Morphology of Carotid Artery and Aortic Valve Calcification

Aortic and mitral valvular calcifications are found to be associated with atherosclerotic risk factors and are largely accepted as part of a generalized atherosclerotic process. As well as the severity of stenosis, embologenic properties of plaques are also responsible for ischemic poten tials of atherosclerotic plaques in carotid arteries. In this study, the authors aimed to define the characteristics of plaque morphology in patients with and without aortic valvular calcification (AVC) and to show the association between AVC and carotid plaque characteristics. Carotid plaque morphology in 182 consecutive patients with AVC was compared with plaque charac teristics in 170 patients without AVC. Risk factors for atherosclerosis, age, and gender were similar in patients with and without AVC. The presence of carotid atherosclerosis, complex atheromas, and carotid artery stenosis was significantly higher in patients with AVC when compared with those without AVC (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, and p < 0.05, respectively)...