CT-based measurement a strong predictor of heart attacks, other adverse cardiovascular events
Abdominal aortic calcification is a strong predictor of future adverse cardiovascular events, including heart attacks, according to a new study published in Radiology. The CT-based measure, the authors noted, performed even better as a predictor of future cardiovascular events than the well-known, commonly used Framingham risk score.
“With heart disease being a leading cause of death, anything we can do to make our patients more aware of their risk is going to help,” lead author Stacy D. O’Connor, MD, MPH, of the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, said in a prepared statement.
O’Connor and colleagues examined the relationship between abdominal aortic calcification detected on CT and cardiovascular events in more than 800 patients who underwent CT colonography from April 2004 to March 2005. All patients were asymptomatic, with a mean age of approximately 58 years old. Patients were followed for an average of 11 years to track if they experienced adverse cardiovascular events.
Overall, 18.8 percent of patients had a major cardiovascular event, which occurred an average of seven years after CT. Abdominal aortic calcification outperformed the Framingham risk score, with calcification being more than five times higher, on average, among patients who had a cardiovascular event than those who did not.
“There are thousands of CT scans performed every day across the United States, so this gives us an opportunity to reach a lot of people,” O’Connor said in the same statement. “For instance, if someone is getting a scan for cholecystitis and we see abdominal aortic calcification on the CT, we can address things like blood pressure and cholesterol with the patient.”
Michael has more than 18 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.