Valvular & structural heart disease
Large-scale community echocardiographic screening reveals a major burden of undiagnosed valvular heart disease in older people: the OxVALVE Population Cohort Study
Authors' conclusion
Previously undetected VHD affects 1 in 2 of the elderly population and is more common in lower socioeconomic classes.
Study context
- Population
- Individuals aged ≥65 years from a primary care population (OxVALVE Population Cohort)
- Participants
- 2,500 individuals
- Outcome
- Prevalence of newly identified (undiagnosed) VHD on transthoracic echocardiography
- Follow-up
- At recruitment
Methodological detailscommunity echocardiographic screening, population-based cohort
- Community echocardiographic screening
- Population-based cohort
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Newly identified (predominantly mild) VHD
- Newly identified valvular heart disease (VHD)
- 51%
- Aortic sclerosis
- 34%
- Mitral regurgitation
- 22%
- Aortic regurgitation
- 15%
- AS
- 1.3%
- Clinically significant (moderate or severe) undiagnosed VHD
- 6.4%
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Pre-existing VHD and total prevalence
- Pre-existing VHD
- 4.9%
- Total prevalence
- 11.3%
Predictors of undiagnosed VHD
- Two-fold higher likelihood in the two most deprived socioeconomic quintiles vs most affluent quintile
- Three-fold higher likelihood in individuals with AF
Projected prevalence of clinically significant VHD · before 2050
- Estimated to double before 2050 (projection using population data)
Original publication
Large-scale community echocardiographic screening reveals a major burden of undiagnosed valvular heart disease in older people: the OxVALVE Population Cohort Study. Eur Heart J. Published 26 June 2016. doi:10.
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it