Dilatation of the ascending aorta and serum alpha 1-antitrypsin level in patients with bicuspid aortic valve

• Published in: Heart and vessels 2012-07, Vol.27 (4), p.391-397
• Main Authors: Kilickesmez, Kadriye Orta, Abaci, Okay, Kocas, Cuneyt, Yildiz, Ahmet, Kaya, Aysem, Okcun, Baris, Kucukoglu, Serdar
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Age Factors; alpha 1-Antitrypsin - blood; Aorta - diagnostic imaging; Aorta - pathology; Aortic Diseases - blood; Aortic Diseases - diagnostic imaging; Aortic Diseases - etiology; Aortic Diseases - pathology; Aortic Valve - abnormalities; Aortic Valve - diagnostic imaging; Biomarkers - blood; Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering; Cardiac Surgery; Cardiology; Chi-Square Distribution; Congenital diseases; Coronary vessels; Dilatation, Pathologic; Down-Regulation; Echocardiography, Doppler; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Female; Heart; Heart Defects, Congenital - blood; Heart Defects, Congenital - complications; Heart Defects, Congenital - diagnostic imaging; Heart Defects, Congenital - pathology; Humans; Hypertension; Linear Models; Male; Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 - blood; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Original Article; Predictive Value of Tests; Risk Assessment; Risk Factors; Turkey; Vascular Surgery; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0910-8327; 1615-2573
• DOI: 10.1007/s00380-011-0161-1

Predictors of aortic dilatation are not well described in patients with bicuspid aortic valves (BAV). This study sought to examine the relationship between proximal aortic dilatation and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and alpha 1-antitrypsin (α1AT) levels in patients with BAV. All patients underwent echocardiography using a standard protocol, and aortic measurements were taken in end-diastole. We studied 82 patients with BAV and categorized them into two groups according to aortic dimensions corrected for body surface area and age. The plasma level of α1AT was routinely determined using a BN ProSpec analyzer (Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics, Marburg, Germany), and that of MMP-9 were determined by ELISA (RayBiotech Inc. Norcross, GA, USA). Statistical analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS; SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) software for Windows version 12. This study included patients with BAV with no or mild valvular impairment. There were no significant differences between groups in terms of gender, body surface area, associated hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, or smoking. The mean ascending aortic diameter was 4.38 ± 0.5 mm in group 1 and 3.34 ± 0.35 mm in group 2 ( p