Left ventricular outflow tract obstruction: should cardiac screening be offered to first-degree relatives?
This study shows that of the patients with LVOTO without NCA, 20% had (an) affected first-degree relative(s), frequently with undetected bicuspid aortic valves. These data suggest that cardiac screening of relatives of patients with LVOTO without NCA is justified. This may help prevent sudden, unexpected, cardiac death or life-threatening complications in relatives with undetected bicuspid aortic valves.
- RANKL and OPG are differentially expressed in calcific AS. In cultured human aortic valve myofibroblasts, RANKL promotes matrix calcification and induces the expression of osteoblast-associated genes, indicating a transition towards an osteogenic phenotype. These results suggest that the RANKL-OPG pathway may regulate valvular calcification in calcific AS?