Increased risk of stroke in non-rheumatic valvular disease associated with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS): a US nationwide study 2017-2019
Authors: Sanka S , Sinha R , Gaddam M , Sekandlapuram R , Ginjupalli M , Devarakonda P K , Patibandla S K , Reddy S , Nanavaty D , Iqbal R , Jayakumar J , Singh S , Manoharan S , Ramireddy K 
Published: October 2024

Introduction

Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is an autoimmune syndrome characterized by the presence of antiphospholipid autoantibodies, arterial and venous thrombosis, recurrent pregnancy loss and thrombocytopenia. Cardiac manifestations are also common which include coronary artery disease (CAD), non rheumatic valvular heart disorders (NRVHD), myocardial dysfunction, intracardiac thrombi and pulmonary hypertension. Valvular lesions occur likely due to immune complex deposition on the valves, causing fibrosis, calcification and subsequently valvular deformities. Literature review suggests prevalence of NRVHD in APS population is 30% and left sided valves are more involved than right. An increased risk of stroke has also been seen in APS patients with valvular disorders.

Purpose

Studies report variations in incidence of NRVHD in association with APS. To estimate the prevalence of NRVHD and their correlation with APS, we conducted a retrospective database analysis of hospitalizations across the United States. Additionally we investigated whether this association indicates a increased risk of ischemic stroke in this specific subpopulation.

Methods

The national inpatient sample (NIS) from 2017-2019 was queried for adult patients (age&gt;18 yrs) admitted with a primary or secondary diagnosis of APS. These patients were stratified for different NRVHD including tricuspid stenosis, tricuspid insufficiency, pulmonary stenosis, pulmonary regurgitation, mitral stenosis, mitral insufficiency (MI), aortic stenosis (AS), and aortic regurgitation. Baseline risk factors and cardiac complications were compared. Multiple regression analysis was performed to study the association of NRVHD with stroke as the primary outcome in the subpopulation of APS hospitalizations.

Results

A total of 567600 adult patients hospitalized with diagnosis of APS were identified from the NIS 2017-2019 database. Among those, 33,095 had NRVHD with a mean age of 69 years. Of these, prevalence of males was 52.41% compared to females of 47.59%. In the cohort of APS, patients with NRVHD had a higher prevalence of coronary artery disease (43.78% vs 20.41%), diabetes mellitus (30.65% vs 27.56%), prior stroke (10.42% vs 7.78%) than those without valvular disorders. Among the APS population the most prevalent NRVHD were mitral insufficiency (MI), 2.45% and aortic stenosis (AS), 2.13%. In the cohort of NRVHD in APS hospitalizations, the odds of stroke was found to be 1.3 times higher with statistical significance (confidence interval (CI): 1.13-1.48, p &lt;0.001) adjusted for relevant clinical and demographic risk factors such as tobacco abuse, CAD, diabetes mellitus, prior stroke.

Conclusion

This study shows 6.2% prevalence of NRVHD in APS population, of which MI and AS were common. NRVHD is also associated with higher odds of stroke in APS. Further studies are warranted in identifying the risk of stroke with NRVHD in APS population and emphasizing the need for early detection.