Physical activity does not reduce aortic valve stenosis incidence

Abstract

Background: Physical activity is associated with lower risk of coronary and cerebrovascular disease but its potential role in prevention of aortic valve stenosis (AVS) is unclear. Methods and Results: We investigated whether physical activity influences AVS risk in a cohort of 69,288 adults. During a mean follow-up of 15.3 years, 1,238 AVS cases were diagnosed. No associations were observed between AVS and walking/bicycling (≥1 h/day vs. almost never: hazard ratio 0.92, 95% CI 0.74–1.15) or exercise (≥4 hs/week vs. <1 h/week: hazard ratio 1.18, 95% CI 0.97–1.43). Conclusions: Physical activity did not reduce the incidence of AVS.