| Summary: | Introduction: Aortic stenosis (AS) is the most common hemodynamic significant valvular heart disease and affects about 2% of the population. The incidence increases with age. When symptoms of the stenotic aortic valve disease eventually occur the 2-year mortality exceeds 50%. Aortic valve replacement (AVR) by surgery or by catheter intervention is the only known treatment. The causes of AS are only partly known, despite that the disease has been known since the beginning of 17th century. In younger individuals, a bicuspid valve is present in about 80% of the cases. The traditional cardiovascular risk-factors for ischemic heart disease have been linked to AS, and the histology of the stenotic aortic valve and the atherosclerotic plaques shares several features such as inflammation, lipid deposition and calcification. High levels of the lipoprotein Lp(a) has been linked to both atherosclerosis and AS, and a causal relation with AS is supported by Mandelian randomisation. End-stage renal disease is associated with increased risk of AS but if early impairment increases the risk is not known. Material and methods: We identified 799 patients with surgery for valvular heart disease and/or disease of the ascending aorta with a prior participation in one of three large population based health surveys in northern Sweden (Västerbotten Intervention Program [VIP], MONItoring Of trends and Determinants in CArdivascular Disease survey [MONICA], and the Mammary Screening Project [MSP]). For each case, four referents matched by age, gender, type and date of survey, and geographical area were randomly selected. From the health surveys, data on cardiovascular risk-factors and health history as well as measurements of anthropometry, blood pressure, glucose and cholesterol levels were retrieved. Each case was carefully validated and data from pre- and perioperative assessments were collected. The presence of coronary artery disease (CAD) was determined from the preoperative coronary angiogram. Apolipoproteins B and A1, Lp(a), ...
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