Population Prevalence of Valvular Heart Disease in the United States
10 affiliations
- 1Division of Cardiology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York, USA; Cardiovascular Research Foundation, New York, New York, USA
- 2Cardiovascular Research Foundation, New York, New York, USA
- 3Survey Research Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
- 4Division of Cardiology, Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
- 5Department of Cardiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA
- 6Division of Cardiology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York, USA
- 7Division of Cardiology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
- 8Department of Medical Statistics, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
- 9Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Baylor Scott and White Health, Dallas, Texas, USA
- 10Division of Cardiology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York, USA; Cardiovascular Research Foundation, New York, New York, USA; Division of Cardiology, St. Francis Hospital, Roslyn, New York, USA. Electronic address: [email protected]
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Valvular heart disease (VHD) is associated with substantial morbidity, mortality, and health care costs, yet its contemporary prevalence among older adults in the United States is unknown. OBJECTIVES: We performed a decentralized study of older adults (PREVUE-VALVE) to determine the population prevalence of VHD among older Americans. METHODS: Individuals 65-85 years old who previously filled a prescription at CVS or Walgreens pharmacies were randomly selected; contacted via e-mail, direct mail, or text messaging; and invited to participate. Enrolled participants completed study procedures in their homes, including a comprehensive transthoracic echocardiogram. The primary endpoint was the prevalence of moderate or greater (≥ moderate) VHD, weighted to reflect the U.S. POPULATION: The co-primary endpoint was the prevalence of clinically significant VHD, which also included mild-to-moderate regurgitant disease. RESULTS: The study sample (n = 3,000) was representative of older Americans (median age 71 years, 57.1% female, 14.6% non-Hispanic Black, 9.4% Hispanic). The weighted prevalence of ≥ moderate VHD was 8.2% (95% CI: 7.0%-9.5%), which increased to 18.4% (95% CI: 16.7%-20.2%) for clinically significant VHD. Tricuspid regurgitation was the most common lesion, followed by aortic stenosis, mitral regurgitation, aortic regurgitation, and mitral stenosis. Older age, but not sex, was associated with greater prevalence. In age- and sex-adjusted analyses, non-Hispanic Black individuals had a lower prevalence of any VHD compared with non-Hispanic White individuals (adjusted RR: 0.91; 95% CI: 0.83-0.99), driven predominantly by lower rates of aortic stenosis and regurgitation. There were no significant adjusted differences in VHD prevalence between Hispanic and non-Hispanic individuals. Extrapolation of these data to the U.S. population indicates that at least 4.7 million 65-85-year-olds currently have ≥ moderate VHD, and 10.6 million currently have clinically significant VHD-values that are projected to increase to 6.5 and 14.7 million, respectively, by 2060. CONCLUSIONS: In this national in-home echocardiography study, VHD was common among older adults, with important age-related and valve-specific patterns. PREVUE-VALVE establishes the feasibility of large-scale decentralized cardiovascular imaging studies and provides a contemporary foundation for clinical and policy planning related to the burden of VHD. (Age- and Sex-Specific Prevalence of Acquired Valvular Heart Disease (PREVUE-VALVE; NCT05357404).
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BibTeX
@article{brener2026population,
title = {{Population Prevalence of Valvular Heart Disease in the United States}},
author = {Michael I. Brener and Michael L. Chuang and Raphael Nishimura and Nadira B. Hamid and Clayton Snyder and Julia B Thompson and Jena Ungarten and Kayo Takahashi and Timothy Joseph Poterucha and Pierre Adil Elias and Brian R. Lindman and Daichi Shimbo and Stuart Pocock and Juan F. Granada and Michael J. Mack and Martin B. Leon and David J. Cohen},
journal = {Journal of the American College of Cardiology},
year = {2026},
month = jun,
doi = {10.1016/j.jacc.2026.02.5137},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2026.02.5137},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Population Prevalence of Valvular Heart Disease in the United States
AU - Michael I. Brener
AU - Michael L. Chuang
AU - Raphael Nishimura
AU - Nadira B. Hamid
AU - Clayton Snyder
AU - Julia B Thompson
AU - Jena Ungarten
AU - Kayo Takahashi
AU - Timothy Joseph Poterucha
AU - Pierre Adil Elias
AU - Brian R. Lindman
AU - Daichi Shimbo
AU - Stuart Pocock
AU - Juan F. Granada
AU - Michael J. Mack
AU - Martin B. Leon
AU - David J. Cohen
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/06/01
JO - Journal of the American College of Cardiology
DO - 10.1016/j.jacc.2026.02.5137
UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2026.02.5137
AB - BACKGROUND: Valvular heart disease (VHD) is associated with substantial morbidity, mortality, and health care costs, yet its contemporary prevalence among older adults in the United States is unknown. OBJECTIVES: We performed a decentralized study of older adults (PREVUE-VALVE) to determine the population prevalence of VHD among older Americans. METHODS: Individuals 65-85 years old who previously filled a prescription at CVS or Walgreens pharmacies were randomly selected; contacted via e-mail, direct mail, or text messaging; and invited to participate. Enrolled participants completed study procedures in their homes, including a comprehensive transthoracic echocardiogram. The primary endpoint was the prevalence of moderate or greater (≥ moderate) VHD, weighted to reflect the U.S. POPULATION: The co-primary endpoint was the prevalence of clinically significant VHD, which also included mild-to-moderate regurgitant disease. RESULTS: The study sample (n = 3,000) was representative of older Americans (median age 71 years, 57.1% female, 14.6% non-Hispanic Black, 9.4% Hispanic). The weighted prevalence of ≥ moderate VHD was 8.2% (95% CI: 7.0%-9.5%), which increased to 18.4% (95% CI: 16.7%-20.2%) for clinically significant VHD. Tricuspid regurgitation was the most common lesion, followed by aortic stenosis, mitral regurgitation, aortic regurgitation, and mitral stenosis. Older age, but not sex, was associated with greater prevalence. In age- and sex-adjusted analyses, non-Hispanic Black individuals had a lower prevalence of any VHD compared with non-Hispanic White individuals (adjusted RR: 0.91; 95% CI: 0.83-0.99), driven predominantly by lower rates of aortic stenosis and regurgitation. There were no significant adjusted differences in VHD prevalence between Hispanic and non-Hispanic individuals. Extrapolation of these data to the U.S. population indicates that at least 4.7 million 65-85-year-olds currently have ≥ moderate VHD, and 10.6 million currently have clinically significant VHD-values that are projected to increase to 6.5 and 14.7 million, respectively, by 2060. CONCLUSIONS: In this national in-home echocardiography study, VHD was common among older adults, with important age-related and valve-specific patterns. PREVUE-VALVE establishes the feasibility of large-scale decentralized cardiovascular imaging studies and provides a contemporary foundation for clinical and policy planning related to the burden of VHD. (Age- and Sex-Specific Prevalence of Acquired Valvular Heart Disease (PREVUE-VALVE; NCT05357404).
SN - 0735-1097
SN - 1558-3597
ER -