Heart Valve Disease Caused by High Cholesterol
High cholesterol is responsible not just for clogging arteries, but it probably plays a role in damaging heart valves as well by reprogramming cells in the aortic and mitral valves into bone and cartilage cells, respectively. Knowing this, it may be possible to prevent heart valve disease by controlling cholesterol levels rather than treating the problem after the fact by surgically repairing or replacing damaged valves.
Dr. Nalini Rajamannan, Northwestern University:
Our findings open the door to the idea that medical therapies such as statins may be able to play a role in preventing or slowing the process and curtailing the need for surgery.
Some facts about heart valve disease:
- Second only to coronary artery disease as a cause for open heart surgery.
- Leads to 100,000 surgeries in the U.S. each year to repair or replace damaged valves.
- Mitral valve disease is a leading cause of atrial fibrillation, which is a major culprit in strokes and heart failure.
- Aortic valve disease can lead to heart failure, arrhythmia, infections in the heart, and sudden death may occur in 15 to 20 percent of people who have symptoms.
Medical News Today, April 12, 2006
Tags: cardiovascular-disease, cholesterol, cvd, disease, health, heart, heart-disease, heart-valve-disease, heart-valves, valvular-heart-diseaseRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Hearty Research
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