Association between mitral annulus calcification and carotid atherosclerotic disease.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: It has been established that mitral annulus calcification (MAC) is an independent predictor of stroke, though a causative relationship was not proved, and that carotid artery atherosclerotic disease is also associated with stroke. The aim of this study was to determine whether there is an association between the presence of MAC and carotid artery atherosclerotic disease.

METHODS: Of the 805 patients in whom the diagnosis of MAC was made by transthoracic echocardiography between 1995 and 1997, 133 patients (60 men and 73 women; mean age, 74.3+/-8 years; range, 47 to 89 years) underwent carotid artery duplex ultrasound for various indications; the study group comprised these patients. They were compared with 129 age- and sex-matched patients without MAC (57 men and 72 women; mean age, 73.6+/-7 years; range, 61 to 96 years) who underwent carotid artery duplex ultrasound during the same period for the same indications. MAC was defined as a dense, localized, highly reflective area at the base of the posterior mitral leaflet. MAC was considered severe when the thickness of the localized, highly reflective area was > or =5 mm on 2-dimensional echocardiography in the 4-chamber view. Carotid artery stenosis was graded as follows: 0%, 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, and 100%.

RESULTS: Compared with the control group, the MAC group showed a significantly higher prevalence of carotid stenosis of > or =40% (45% versus 29%, P=0.006), which was associated with > or =2-vessel disease (23% versus 10%, P=0.006) and bilateral carotid artery atherosclerotic disease (21% versus 10%, P=0.011). Severe MAC was found in 48 patients. More significant differences were found for the severe MAC subgroup (for carotid stenosis of > or =40%) in rates of carotid artery atherosclerotic disease (58% versus 29%, P=0.001), and > or =2-vessel disease (31% versus 10%, P=0.001), in addition to bilateral carotid artery stenosis (27% versus 10%, P=0.004) and even bilateral proximal internal carotid artery stenosis (21% versus 8%, P=0.015). Furthermore, significant carotid artery atherosclerotic disease (stenosis of > or =60%) was significantly more common in the severe MAC subgroup than in the controls (42% versus 26%, P<0.05) and was associated with higher rates of > or =2-vessel disease (19% versus 7%, P=0.02) and bilateral carotid artery stenosis (17% versus 7%, P=0.05). On multivariate analysis, MAC and age but not traditional risk factors were the only independent predictors of carotid atherosclerotic disease (P=0.007 and P=0.04, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS: There is a significant association between the presence of MAC and carotid artery atherosclerotic disease. MAC may be an important marker for atherosclerotic disease of the carotid arteries. This association may explain the high prevalence of stroke in patients with MAC.