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Identifying Coronary Artery Calcification on Non-gated Computed Tomography Scans
04:40

Identifying Coronary Artery Calcification on Non-gated Computed Tomography Scans

Published on: August 28, 2018

Coronary artery calcium: utilization for primary prevention of CHD

Harvey S Hecht

    Current Cardiology Reports
    |September 6, 2011
    PubMed

    Insights

    Coronary artery calcium (CAC) is the premier cardiac risk predictor in asymptomatic individuals. CAC guides risk reduction by identifying targets, making it the most cost-effective primary prevention strategy.

    Area of Science:

    • Cardiology
    • Preventive Medicine
    • Medical Imaging

    Background:

    • Coronary artery calcium (CAC) scoring is emerging as a pivotal tool in cardiovascular risk assessment.
    • Traditional risk factors are re-evaluated in light of CAC's predictive power.

    Discussion:

    • CAC surpasses traditional risk factors in predicting cardiac events in asymptomatic populations.
    • Risk factors are best utilized to identify targets for intervention once CAC has established risk.
    • Population-based "normal" cholesterol levels lack individual patient relevance.

    Key Insights:

    • Subclinical atherosclerosis, measured by serial CAC, is superior to lipid values for defining residual and pretreatment risk.
    • CAC screening implementation does not require prior randomized controlled trials.
    • Lipid-lowering drug trials should exclude individuals with zero CAC.

    Outlook:

    • CAC represents the most cost-effective approach to primary cardiovascular prevention.
    • Future cardiovascular risk assessment and prevention strategies will likely be centered around CAC imaging.
    • Personalized medicine in cardiology is advanced by CAC's individual risk stratification capabilities.

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