1993 Volume 57 Issue 1 Pages 14-26
We assessed the influence of aging bone calcium metabolism on mitral annular calcification (MAC) and aortic valve calcification (AVC) in 239 septua- and octogenarians (62 men, 177 women; 80.2±4.4 years). Osteoporosis was diagnosed by vertebral bone fracture. Both MAC and AVC were derived by 2-dimensional echocardiography. Bone mineral content (BMC) of the lumbar vertebral body was obtained by single-energy quantitative computed tomography using a calibration phantom. Serum calcium, phosphorus, parathyroid hormone, calcitonin, and osteocalcin were examined. Patients were classified into 3 age-matched groups in each sex: Group-C included patients with MAC (-) and AVC (-) (n=96); Group-A was those with AVC (+) and MAC (-) (n=80); Group-M consisted of those with MAC (+) and AVC (-) or AVC (+) (n=63). Osteoporosis-frequency and BMC in women were significantly higher (p<0.01) and lower (p<0.001) respectively than those in men. Among men, osteoporosis-frequency and BMC showed no difference between the 3 groups. Among women, osteoporosis-frequency (52%) and BMC (32±23 mg/cm3) in Group-M were higher (NS) and significantly less (p<0.01) than those (37%, 49±36) in Group-C, respectively. In both sexes, serum examinations revealed no differences between the 3 groups. These results suggest that: 1) MAC in elderly women can be attributed to ectopic calcium deposits, related to the severe bone loss caused by postmenopausal osteoporosis; 2) there is no significant relationship between the incidence of MAC or AVC and the humor-al factors of calcium metabolism; and 3) AVC may be mainly caused by pressure or stress loading.
