Aortic Valve Calcification as an Incidental Finding at CT of the Elderly: Severity and Location as Predictors of Aortic Stenosis

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to correlate the severity and location of aortic valve calcifications, as an incidental finding at chest CT of elderly persons, with pressure gradients across the valve.MATERIALS AND METHODS. One hundred fifteen subjects who were 60 years old or older and who showed aortic valve calcification on chest CT (5-mm reconstructed section width, no IV contrast material) and who had also undergone transthoracic echocardiography within 3 months of the CT examination were identified retrospectively. Aortic valve calcification scores (Agatston and volumetric) and subjective calcification pattern scores (based on a 9-point scale) were calculated and correlated with echocardiographic gradients.RESULTS. Thirty patients (26%) (median age, 81 years) were identified who showed an increased pressure gradient across the aortic valve at echocardiography. Eighty-five subjects (74%), including 30 age-matched but otherwise randomly selected control subjects, showed no increase in pressur...