APOE and familial hypercholesterolemia: To identify lesion formation in the aortic valve disease in hyperlipidemic conditions, we assessed lipid accumulation in the aortic valve, using the following two mouse models of hypercholesterolemia: Apoe−/− and Ldlr−/− mice (experimental group) and C57BL/6J mice (wild-type control group), fed either a chow or western diet (WD) for 10 weeks.