Calcification bicuspid aortic valve

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Paleowoman

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I understand from previous threads on the forum that calcification of the BAV is not due to calcium....but the day before yesterday in the British Medical Journal was some research that said that calcium supplements lead to increased mortality from cardiovascular disease with calcification: http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/341/jul29_1/c3691

I followed up two of the papers in this analysis and found there is a connection between serum calcium, irrespective of whether or not the person is taking calcium supplements, and calcification and heart disease mortality in both men and women: http://hyper.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/34/3/484 and http://jasn.asnjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/15/12/2959

Any thoughts on this please ?

Anne
 
I've never taken calcium supplements, but drink a lot of milk. Isn't milk pretty high in calcium? My valve was VERY calcified according to the surgeon once he saw it up close and personal. I suppose there could be a link. Maybe milk only does some bodies good ;)
 
That is for MI/ heart attacks and strokes caused by plaque build up (or break off) which is completely different than the calcification of a valve or graft/conduit ect. Tobago has written a few good posts explaining the difference in make up between the 2 things.
 
I've never taken calcium supplements, but drink a lot of milk. Isn't milk pretty high in calcium? My valve was VERY calcified according to the surgeon once he saw it up close and personal. I suppose there could be a link. Maybe milk only does some bodies good ;)

I recently heard an Internal Medicine Doctor on PBS state that calcium from milk is not readily absorbed by the body and that other (vegetable) sources were better. I should add that he was promoting a Vegan Diet as a means of controlling Diabetes. Another Doctor once told me that Calcium supplements weren't as effective in men as they are in women. Who Knows what to believe...'
 
Cardiovascular disease and cardiac valve disease are entirely different and separate, and therein lies the confusion.

Apatite (calcium, phosphorus and other trace minerals) is the substance of the valve calcification. It's crusty and brittle, and is similar to the apatite mix that your body generates to create bones and teeth.

Fats, cholesterol, and blood cell debris are the mainstay of atheromas, which are the artery blockers in cardiovascular disease. They are basically soft, with some calcification forming and layering in after they have already developed to some extent.

People with bicuspid valves often have preternaturally clean coronary arteries (although not always), even though their valves may be crusted to utter uselessness. It seems to be a common, linked, inherited trait. By the same token, most people by far who have even terribly bad cardiovascular disease never develop valve disease at all.

Statins have been studied numerous times (such as the SEAS trials) to determine if they can slow down valve calcification. The results have been in all cases that they absolutely do not change the rate of valve calcification or the average life of a tissue valve, although they do slightly reduce the overall number of deaths from other, cardiovascular issues.

They just aren't related, except by the accident of their location being in and near the heart.

The accelerated death rate for people with cardiovascular disease who have higher serum calcium levels makes sense, as when calcium is deposited in an outer layer of an atheroma, it becomes a harder blockage in the artery and interferes with its natural ability to expand and contract, as well as making it more difficult for drugs to reduce the atheroma's size. Also, bits that may break off are rigid and more prone to lodge permanently in a bad place, causing a heart attack or stroke.

Taking calcium supplements is not necessarily relevant to serum calcium levels, which are more dictated by other bodily chemical functions. Depending on the body's mode, it may steal from the bones to raise the serum calcium or lower it too much and leave painful calcium deposits in joints. Vitamin D plays a large role in serum calcium management, as well as in the original absorption of calcium from milk and all other sources.

Calcium also plays a role in regulating blood pressure. Calcium channel blockers slow the electrical pulses in the heart (and the arterial wall muscles) by affecting the heart's electrical fast-tracks: the calcium channels. CCBs block some of the electrical sensitivity of the heart muscle, making it beat less strongly and more slowly, thus lowering blood pressure. This again speaks to cardiovascular issues, rather than valve problems.

Best wishes,
 
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Does anyone know any of hypothesis for potential slow down of calcification or delaying apatite formation on the valves? Or do we have nothing for now? What about multivitamins which have other minerals?

Paleogirl, I am assuming that understanding practical applications to slowing this down is what you are are after, at least in part?

Best,

Rick
 
Thanks for everyone's thoughts on this. There is certainly a lot about it on the osteoporosis forum I am on too. I don't actually take calcium supplements myself but still I have osteoporosis medication (not bisphosphonates). I wish more was known about valve calcification and why it happens, or is it simply because of the turbulent blood flow in the area ?

Rick - yes I'm interesting in slowing this down.
 
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