Markers of subclinical atherosclerosis in patients with aortic valve sclerosis : A meta-analysis of literature studies

Objective: Growing evidence suggested an association between aortic valve sclerosis (AVSc) and cardiovascular (CV) events. However, little is known about the association of AVSc with major markers of subclinical atherosclerosis. We performed a meta-analysis of literature studies to address this issue. Approach and Results: Studies on the relationship between AVSc and common carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT), prevalence of carotid plaques (CPs), flow-mediated dilation (FMD), aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) and augmentation index (AIx) were systematically searched in electronic databases. Thirteen studies enrolling 1086 AVSc patients and 2124 controls were included. Compared to controls, AVSc patients showed higher IMT (MD: 0.32 mm; 95%CI: 0.07, 0.58; p=0.014), and higher prevalence of CPs (OR: 4.06; 95%CI: 2.38, 6.93; p