Subjects with familial hypercholesterolemia have lower aortic valve area and higher levels of inflammatory biomarkers

Background: Reduction of the aortic valve area (AVA) may lead to aortic valve stenosis with considerable impact on morbidity and mortality if not identified and treated. Lipoprotein (a) [Lp(a)] and also inflammatory biomarkers, including platelet derived biomarkers, have been considered risk factor for aortic stenosis; however, the association between Lp(a), inflammatory biomarkers and AVA among patients with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is not clear. Objective: We aimed to investigate the relation between concentration of Lp(a), measurements of the aortic valve including velocities and valve area and circulating inflammatory biomarkers in adult FH subjects and controls. Methods: In this cross-sectional study aortic valve measures were examined by cardiac ultrasound and inflammatory markers were analyzed in non-fasting blood samples. The study participants were 64 FH subjects with high (n = 29) or low (n = 35) Lp(a), and 14 healthy controls. Results: Aortic valve peak velocity was higher (p = 0.02), and AVA was lower (p = 0.04) in the FH patients compared to controls; however, when performing multivariable linear regression, there were no significant differences. Furthermore, there were no significant differences between the high and low FH Lp(a) groups regarding the aortic valve. FH subjects had higher levels of platelet-derived markers CD40L, PF4, NAP2 and RANTES compared to controls (0.003 ≤ P ≤ 0.03). This result persisted after multiple linear regression. Conclusions: Middle-aged, intensively treated FH subjects have higher aortic valve velocity, lower AVA, and higher levels of the platelet-derived markers CD40L, PF4, NAP2 and RANTES compared to healthy control subjects. The aortic valve findings were not significant after multiple linear regression, whereas the higher levels of platelet-derived markers were maintained.