Statins Have No Role in Preventing the Progression of Aortic Valve Sclerosis

BACKGROUND: Statins are thought to have little effect on the progression of aortic stenosis, but the data on their role in patients with aortic valve sclerosis (AVS) are limited and inconsistent. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 541 consecutive patients (214 men, age: 70 ± 11 years) with AVS. Each patient underwent two or more electrocardiography examinations at least 6 months apart at Kangwon National University Hospital from August 2010 to August 2015. AVS is defined as irregular thickening of the leaflets, focal increases in echogenicity and minimal elevation of the peak aortic valve velocity (> 1.5 and < 2 m/s). The progression rate of AVS was expressed as the increase in peak velocity per year (m/s/yr). RESULTS: The mean follow-up duration was 24.9 ± 13.3 months in the statin-treated group and 24.1 ± 12.4 months in the non-statin-treated group (p = 0.460). There were no differences between the statin-treated and non-statin-treated groups in mean age, gender or smoking status. Relative to the non-statin-treated group, a higher number of patients in the statin-treated group had hypertension, diabetes, ischemic heart disease, and stroke. The progression rate of AVS did not differ between the statin-treated and non-statin-treated groups (0.012 ± 0.340 m/s/yr vs. 0.014 ± 0.245 m/s/yr, p = 0.956). Multivariate analysis showed initial peak aortic jet velocity was significantly associated with AVS progression (β = 0.153, p = 0.009). CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrated that statins had no effect on the progression of AVS. However, well-designed studies are needed to define the prognosis and management of AVS.