MCQ – 87162

A 72-year-old man died suddenly from congestive heart failure. At autopsy, the heart weighed 580 g and showed marked left ventricular hypertrophy and minimal coronary arterial atherosclerosis. A serum chemistry panel ordered before death showed no abnormalities. Which of the following pathologic processes best accounts for the appearance of the aortic valve seen in the figure?

A.	Amyloidosis
B.	Fatty change
C.	Dystrophic calcification
D.	Lipofuscin deposition

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Correct Answer � C Explanation

• Ans.C. Dystrophic calcification
• The valve is stenotic because of nodular deposits of calcium. The process is “dystrophic” because calcium deposition occurs in damaged tissues.
• The damage in this patient is a result of the wear and tear of aging. Amyloid deposition in the heart typically occurs within the myocardium and the vessels.
• The number of lipofuscin increases within myocardial fibers (not valves) with aging.
• Hereditary hemochromatosis is a genetic defect in iron absorption that results in extensive myocardial iron deposition (hemosiderosis). Fatty change is uncommonly seen in the myocardium, but the infiltration of fat cells between myofibers can occur.