PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Family history doubles aortic stenosis risk

2013-09-01
(Press-News.org) Aortic stenosis is the most common heart valve disease in the elderly. It is associated with congenital bicuspid aortic valve and previous rheumatic heart disease, but is also often caused by calcification of a normal valve. Calcification of a normal valve may be associated with atherosclerotic changes in the portion of the aorta closest to the valve.

Dr Ranthe said: "Genetic factors may play a role in the development of aortic stenosis. A single nucleotide polymorphism in the lipoprotein(a) locus has been associated with aortic valve calcification and aortic stenosis.1 Elevated lipoprotein(a) is a risk factor for atherosclerosis, including ischaemic heart disease, which is known to aggregate in families. Our aim was to discover whether aortic stenosis also aggregates in families."

The study used information from national Danish registers and included the 4.2 million Danes born in or after 1920. The cohort was followed for more than 73 million person-years, starting in 1977 (the year the Danish Hospital Discharge Register began) and ending in 2012. Cases of aortic stenosis were recorded when they occurred at age 35 years or older.

Patients with any registration of a congenital heart defect and those with cardiovascular disease diagnosed at 35 years. Of those, 193 had a first degree relative with aortic stenosis and the relative risk was 2.04 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.77-2.35). Dr Ranthe said: "The risk of aortic stenosis roughly doubled when patients had a first degree relative with the disease. In addition, aortic stenosis occurred earlier in life in patients with a family history of the condition."

The impact of family history differed between patients with and without ischaemic heart disease. Family history increased the risk of aortic stenosis by 2-fold in patients without ischaemic heart disease. The risk of aortic stenosis was increased by 8-fold in patients with ischaemic heart disease and a family history of aortic stenosis compared to those with no family history and no ischaemic heart disease.

Dr Ranthe said: "Family history confers a 2-fold increased risk in all patients. Ischaemic heart disease alone is also a strong risk factor for aortic stenosis, increasing the risk of aortic stenosis by 4-fold in patients with no family history. This 4-fold risk increase is doubled, i.e. to 8-fold, in those with both ischaemic heart disease and family history."

The researchers conducted a robustness analysis with aortic valve replacement as an endpoint and found similar results. In a similar cohort they identified 130 patients with a family history of aortic stenosis out of 12,690 patients undergoing the procedure. The relative risk by family history was 2.18 (95% CI 1.79-2.65).

Dr Ranthe concluded: "We found significant and robust associations indicating that aortic stenosis clusters in families. Although epidemiologic studies cannot directly infer causality, our results suggest the existence of a familial component to the disease. Our results suggest that patients with ischaemic heart disease and a family history of aortic stenosis have a high relative risk of aortic stenosis."

###

References

1 Thanassoulis G, et al. Genetic associations with valvular calcification and aortic stenosis. N Engl J Med. 2013;368(6):503-512.

Notes to editor

About the European Society of Cardiology

The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) represents more than 80 000 cardiology professionals across Europe and the Mediterranean. Its mission is to reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease in Europe.

About ESC Congress 2013

The ESC Congress is currently the world's premier conference on the science, management and prevention of cardiovascular disease. The spotlight of this year's event is "The Heart Interacting with Systemic Organs". ESC Congress 2013 takes place from 31 August to 4 September at the RAI centre in Amsterdam, Netherlands. More information is available from the ESC Press Office at press@escardio.org

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Pre-treatment with prasugrel -- more risk, no benefit: ACCOAST

2013-09-01
AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands – In patients with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE- ACS), pre-treatment with the P2Y12 antagonist prasugrel prior to catheterization, significantly increases the risk of life-threatening bleeding without reducing the risk of major ischemic events, according to the results of the ACCOAST (A Comparison of Prasugrel at PCI or Time of Diagnosis of Non-ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction) trial. The findings point to a "paradigm shift" away from pre-treatment in such patients which will not only be "hard to believe and destabilizing ...

Preventive PCI results in better outcomes than culprit artery PCI alone in ST elevation MI

2013-09-01
AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands – Heart attack patients with ST elevation who undergo a preventive procedure to unblock additional coronary arteries have significantly better outcomes than those whose treatment is confined to the culprit blockage only, according to the results of the Preventive Angioplasty in Myocardial Infarction (PRAMI) Trial. The findings, presented today at the ESC and published simultaneously in the New England Journal of Medicine, provide information that will help guide clinical practice and resolve uncertainty over how to approach percutaneous coronary ...

A shorter interruption of anti-thrombotics does not influence peri-operative complications

2013-09-01
AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands – A shortened pre-surgical interruption of anti-thrombotic therapy, compared to the more traditional one-week interruption, has no influence on perioperative complications in cardiac patients, according to the results of the PRAGUE 14 trial. "Thus, there is no evidence to support changing the traditional approach of interrupting antithrombotic therapy one week before surgery," said lead investigator Petr Widimsky, MD., DrSc., from the Cardiocenter of Charles University, in Prague, Czech Republic. The results shed light on a persistent dilemma ...

Study finds mechanical chest compressions are equally as effective as manual CPR

2013-09-01
"The study was designed to show a better 4-hour survival in the group treated with mechanical chest compressions, and this was not achieved," said lead investigator Sten Rubertsson, MD, PhD, professor and specialist consultant at Uppsala University and Uppsala University Hospital. "But we now have the scientific support to allow us to use mechanical chest compressions and defibrillate during ongoing compressions," he said, adding that this could potentially increase the efficiency and safety of emergency personnel as they deliver care during transportation of patients. ...

Magnetic resonance imaging before ablation for atrial fibrosis helps predict success of treatment

2013-09-01
AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands – In patients with atrial fibrillation, delayed enhancement magnetic resonance imaging (DE-MRI) performed before ablative treatment can stage the degree of damaged heart tissue (atrial fibrosis) and help predict whether treatment will be successful or not, according to results of Delayed Enhancement - MRI determinant of successful Catheter Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation (DECAAF) trial. "The DECAAF results show that stage of atrial fibrosis prior to ablation is a new, powerful, independent predictor of outcome," said lead investigator Nasir ...

Hokusai-VTE study suggests certain sub-groups of venous thromboembolism patients may need review

2013-09-01
AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands – In the treatment of venous thromboembolism (VTE), the oral anticoagulant edoxaban resulted in equal efficacy and better safety compared to standard warfarin when either drug was used with initial low molecular weight heparin (LMWH), according to the results of the Hokusai-VTE trial. In the landscape of new trials with oral anticoagulants, the Hokusai-VTE findings offer fresh insight into a previously under-represented subgroup of patients with pulmonary embolism (PE), suggesting that treatment for this group might need to be different than ...

TASTE trial challenge current practice of blood clot aspiration after heart attack

2013-09-01
AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands -- Aspiration of the blood clot or "thrombus" that causes a heart attack before re-opening a patient's artery with a balloon catheter does not improve survival compared to performing balloon dilation and stenting alone according to the results of the Thrombus Aspiration in ST- Elevation myocardial infarction in Scandinavia (TASTE) trial. "We believe that TASTE questions the usefulness of thrombus aspiration as a routine adjunct and the recommendation for its general use in international guidelines should probably be down-graded," said lead author ...

High dose statins prevent dementia

2013-08-31
Dr Lin said: "Statins are widely used in the older population to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. But recent reports of statin-associated cognitive impairment have led the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to list statin-induced cognitive changes, especially for the older population, in its safety communications." He added: "Previous studies had considered statin therapy to exert a beneficial effect on dementia. But few large-scale studies have focused on the impact of statins on new-onset, non-vascular dementia in the geriatric population." Accordingly, ...

Reimbursement systems influence achievement of cholesterol targets

2013-08-31
Dr Gitt said: "There are wide variations between European countries in the achievement of LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) targets. However the effect of different reimbursement systems on meeting the targets was unknown." Between June 2008 and February 2009 DYSIS assessed the prevalence and types of persistent lipid abnormalities in patients receiving statins. Eligible patients were at high risk of a cardiovascular event, aged >45 years, and had been on chronic statin treatment for at least three months. A total of 22,063 patients were enrolled from 2,954 sites across 11 European ...

Statins reduce CV events in CAD patients with very low LDL-C

2013-08-31
Dr Nakano said: "Many randomised clinical trials, such as Treating to New Targets (TNT) and PROVE IT-TIMI, have shown that aggressive cholesterol lowering with statins improves clinical outcomes in patients with CAD and high LDL-C levels.1,2 But until now it was not known whether aggressive lipid lowering with statins would also benefit CAD patients with very low LDL-C levels." The current study used the Ibaraki Cardiovascular Assessment Study (ICAS), a registry of 2,238 patients from 12 hospitals in the Ibaraki region of Japan, who between 0 and 1 month underwent percutaneous ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Proactively screening diabetics for heart disease does not improve long-term mortality rates or reduce future cardiac events, new study finds

New model can help understand coexistence in nature

National Poll: Some parents need support managing children's anger

Political shadows cast by the Antarctic curtain

Scientists lead study on ‘spray on, wash off’ bandages for painful EB condition

A new discovery about pain signalling may contribute to better treatment of chronic pain

Migrating birds have stowaway passengers: invasive ticks could spread novel diseases around the world

Diabetes drug shows promise in protecting kidneys

Updated model reduces liver transplant disparities for women

Risk of internal bleeding doubles when people on anticoagulants take NSAID painkiller

‘Teen-friendly’ mindfulness therapy aims to help combat depression among teenagers

Innovative risk score accurately calculates which kidney transplant candidates are also at risk for heart attack or stroke, new study finds

Kidney outcomes in transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy

Partial cardiac denervation to prevent postoperative atrial fibrillation after coronary artery bypass grafting

Finerenone in women and men with heart failure with mildly reduced or preserved ejection fraction

Finerenone, serum potassium, and clinical outcomes in heart failure with mildly reduced or preserved ejection fraction

Hormone therapy reshapes the skeleton in transgender individuals who previously blocked puberty

Evaluating performance and agreement of coronary heart disease polygenic risk scores

Heart failure in zero gravity— external constraint and cardiac hemodynamics

Amid record year for dengue infections, new study finds climate change responsible for 19% of today’s rising dengue burden

New study finds air pollution increases inflammation primarily in patients with heart disease

AI finds undiagnosed liver disease in early stages

The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announce new research fellowship in malaria genomics in honor of professor Dominic Kwiatkowski

Excessive screen time linked to early puberty and accelerated bone growth

First nationwide study discovers link between delayed puberty in boys and increased hospital visits

Traditional Mayan practices have long promoted unique levels of family harmony. But what effect is globalization having?

New microfluidic device reveals how the shape of a tumour can predict a cancer’s aggressiveness

Speech Accessibility Project partners with The Matthew Foundation, Massachusetts Down Syndrome Congress

Mass General Brigham researchers find too much sitting hurts the heart

New study shows how salmonella tricks gut defenses to cause infection

[Press-News.org] Family history doubles aortic stenosis risk