The Contribution of Whole Blood Viscosity to the Process of Aortic Valve Sclerosis
Objective: We aimed to investigate whether increased whole blood viscosity (WBV) could be an important factor for the occurrence of aortic valve sclerosis (AVS). Subjects and Methods: A total of 209 patients were enrolled in the study. WBV was calculated using the hematocrit and total plasma protein at a low shear rate (LSR) and a high shear rate (HSR). AVS was defined as irregular valve thickening and calcification (without evidence of outflow obstruction) documented by a peak transvalvular velocity < 2.5 m/s on echocardiographic examination. The patient group consisted of 109 patients with AVS (77 females, 32 males), and 100 subjects without AVS (65 females, 35 males) were assigned to the control group. Results: In the AVS group, WBV values were significantly higher for HSR (17.4 ± 0.5 vs. 17.1 ± 0.7 208 s–1, p < 0.001) and LSR (65.9 ± 12.5 vs. 59.7 ± 16.7 0.5 s–1, p = 0.002). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, WBV at HSR and LSR were independent predictors of AVS (odds ratio, OR: 2.24, 95% confidence interval, CI: 1.38–3.64, p = 0.001; OR: 1.026, 95% CI: 1.006–1.046, p = 0.01, respectively). Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis indicated that a WBV cutoff value of 65.4 at LSR had a sensitivity of 46.8% and a specificity of 60.0% (area under the ROC curve, AUC: 0.615, 95% CI: 0.535–0.696, p = 0.004), and a WBV cutoff value of 17.1 at HSR had a sensitivity of 61.5% and specificity of 53% (AUC: 0.648, 95% CI: 0.571–0.725, p < 0.001) for the prediction of AVS. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that WBV was independently associated with AVS. WBV could be an indicator of inflammation and vessel remodeling without evidence of outflow obstruction.