A build up of calcium in the heart valve is an indicator of an increased risk of heart disease and heart attack.

A new report from the long-running Framingham Heart Study, which started in 1948, puts the spotlight on the state of the valve connecting the two left chambers of the heart. Researchers for the US National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute have measured calcification in the heart valve using ultrasound. The deposition of calcium leads to the thickening of a band of fibrous tissue around the valve.

In this study, calcification was found in 14 per cent of the elderly people studied. Those with calcification were 50 per cent more likely to develop heart disease during the 16 years of follow up and 60 per cent more likely to die of heart problems.

The researchers think there's a link between calcification and the usual heart disease risk factors, like high blood pressure and high cholesterol. So calcification acts as a 'marker' for exposure of the heart to risk factors. It may be that controlling risk factors might lead to a reduction in the development of calcification.

Source

Circulation 11th March 2003