Mean platelet volume is increased in patients with bicuspid aortic valve [published online December 5, 2011]. Clin Appl Thromb Hemost. 2011. doi

Background: It has been demonstrated that platelet activation occurs in patients with aortic stenosis. However, no study has assessed platelet activation in patients with a normally functioning bicuspid aortic valve (BAV). Therefore, we aimed to investigate relationship between platelet activation assessed by mean platelet volume (MPV) and normally functioning BAV. Methods: Thirty-nine patients with isolated BAV and 25 age- and gender-matched healthy participants were included in the study. Patients with more than mild aortic regurgitation and aortic velocity>2 m/s were excluded from the study. For the entire study population, MPV was measured using an automatic blood counter. Results: Compared to control group, MPV value was significantly higher in patients with BAV (8.6+ 1.0 vs 8.0+ 0.8, p:.01). In the correlation analysis, there was a significant correlation between MPV measures with aortic stiffness (r:.32 and p:.01) and aortic elastic modulus (r:.37 and p:.003). Conclusion:Our study results indicate that BAV is associated with elevated MPV values