Does statin therapy impact the proximal aortopathy in aortic valve disease?
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Abstract
Background: Studies have demonstrated that statin therapy decreases the growth rate of abdominal aneurysms. However, the effect of statin therapy on the proximal aortic disease has not been sufficiently elucidated.
Aim: We aimed to analyse the association between statin treatment and the severity of proximal aortopathy in patients with aortic valve disease.
Design: Cross-sectional study.
Methods: We prospectively identified 458 patients who were referred for aortic valve surgery from 2008 to 2014. Pre-operative measurement of the proximal aorta was performed by TEE, CT or MRT scan. Data of dyslipidemia treatment was obtained by questionnaire.
Results: The mean ascending aortic diameter in the whole study population was comparable in patients with vs. without statin therapy (i.e. 42.7 mm vs. 43.6 mm, P = 0.46). Logistic regression analysis showed no significant association between statin therapy and proximal aortopathy ≥ 40 mm in the whole study group (OR = 0.69, P = 0.10). For the BAV sub-group, HDL (OR = 0.54, P = 0.038) and cholesterol levels (OR = 2.00, P = 0.038) were found significantly associated with the proximal aortic disease. In the BAV cohort, the statin users with target HDL levels presented a significantly smaller proximal aortic diameter (40.1 mm vs. 46 mm, P = 0.02).
Conclusion: Pre-operative statin therapy demonstrated no significant association with the expression of proximal aortopathy. However, more than 40% of the statin users presented uncontrolled lipid levels at the time of the study. In the BAV sub-group, the statins users with target HDL levels showed a significantly smaller ascending aorta diameter. Target HDL and cholesterol levels were strongly associated with proximal aortic dilation in BAV patients.
Bibliographical data
Original language | English |
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ISSN | 1460-2725 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 01.09.2018 |
PubMed | 29917097 |
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