Table 1.

Baseline characteristics

	High Lp(a) (n=26)	Low Lp(a) (n=26)	P value
Clinical characteristics
Age, years	66.3±5.6	66.5±5.6	0.934*
Male gender	22 (84.6)	22 (84.6)	>0.999†
Body mass index, kg/m2	26.9±4.5	28.5±4.2	0.316*
Systolic blood pressure, mm Hg	128±12	141±12	<0.001*
Diastolic blood pressure, mm Hg	79±12	85±11	0.057*
Ischaemic heart disease	6 (23.1)	2 (7.7)	0.248‡
Hypertension	20 (76.9)	20 (76.9)	>0.999†
Diabetes mellitus	3 (11.5)	7 (26.9)	0.291‡
Smoking
Never	8 (30.8)	9 (34.6)	0.872‡
Former	12 (46.2)	13 (50)
Active	6 (23.1)	4 (15.4)
Use of lipid-lowering therapy	19 (73.1)	16 (61.5)	0.554†
Use of antihypertensive(s)	18 (69.2)	19 (73.1)	>0.999†
Laboratory values
C reactive protein, mg/dL	1.1 (0.5–4.8)	1.3 (0.9–2.3)	0.521*
Creatinine, mmol/L	87±20	87±18	0.903*
Urea, mmol/L	6.8±2.3	7.0±2.1	0.775*
Calcium, mmol/L	2.41±0.09	2.42±0.08	0.713*
Phosphate, mmol/L	0.94±0.20	0.94±0.16	0.933*
Total cholesterol, mmol/L	4.43±0.94	4.85±1.13	0.151*
HDL-cholesterol, mmol/L	1.54±0.34	1.62±0.72	0.606*
LDL-cholesterol, mmol/L	2.3±0.8	2.6±1.1	0.361*
Corrected LDL-cholesterol, mmol/L	1.9±0.8	2.5±1.3	0.035*
Triglycerides, mmol/L	1.09 (0.70–1.55)	1.29 (1.05–2.11)	0.090§
Lp(a), mg/dL	79 (64–112)	5 (3–10)	<0.001§
Echocardiographic parameters
Bicuspid aortic valve	5 (19.2)	5 (19.2)	>0.999†
Peak aortic jet velocity, m/s	2.77±0.55	2.83±0.42	0.689*
Peak aortic valve gradient, mm Hg	31±13.55	30.85±10.68	0.964*
Mean aortic valve gradient, mm Hg	17.88±8.31	17.88±6.96	0.998*
Aortic valve area, cm2	1.77±0.64	1.62±0.42	0.345*

Data are presented as mean±SD, median (IQR) or number (percentage).

*Hypothesis tested by t-test.

†Hypothesis tested by χ².

‡Hypothesis tested by Fisher’s exact test.

§Hypothesis tested by Mann-Whitney U test.

HDL, high-density-lipoprotein; LDL, low-density-lipoprotein; Lp(a), lipoprotein(a).