Valvular calcification in the elderly: possible pathogenic factors.

Calcification of the mitral ring and of the aortic valve cusps was studied in an unselected autopsy series of 219 patients over 60, dying in a department of geriatric medicine. Possible correlations with age, sex, heart size, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, bone density and serum calcium, phosphate and alkaline phosphatase were examined. There were no significant findings for aortic valve calcification though there was a weak association with advanced age. Mitral ring calcification was significantly associated with higher age, female sex and with increased heart weight after correction for body size. These findings suggest that mechanical factors, rather than changes in mineral metabolism, are implicated in the development of mitral ring calcification.