Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 4, 2026
Identifying Coronary Artery Calcification on Non-gated Computed Tomography Scans
Published on: August 28, 2018
Role of coronary artery calcium in cardiovascular risk assessment
Nirmal Sunkara1, Nathan D Wong, Shaista Malik
1Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, University of California, 333 City Drive West, Suite 400, Orange, CA 92868, USA.
Insights
Coronary artery calcium (CAC) scoring effectively identifies individuals at risk for cardiovascular events, even those without symptoms. This imaging tool improves risk prediction, particularly in patients with diabetes and metabolic syndrome, guiding cost-effective interventions.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Radiology
- Preventive Medicine
Background:
- Coronary artery disease (CAD) remains a leading cause of global morbidity and mortality.
- A significant proportion of cardiovascular events occur in asymptomatic individuals.
- Traditional risk scores may not adequately identify all at-risk populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the utility of coronary artery calcium (CAC) scoring for risk stratification.
- To evaluate CAC's role in the general population and specific subgroups like diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
- To assess the cost-effectiveness of CAC-guided interventions.
Main Methods:
- Comprehensive literature search of PubMed and Medline databases.
- Keywords included: coronary artery calcification, X-ray computed tomography, multidetector computed tomography, CAD, diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome.
- Review and synthesis of existing data on CAC utilization and outcomes.
Main Results:
- Coronary artery calcium (CAC) scoring provides incremental risk stratification beyond traditional methods.
- CAC improves the prediction of cardiovascular events, especially in asymptomatic individuals.
- CAC is particularly valuable in patients with diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
Conclusions:
- Coronary artery calcium (CAC) scoring is an excellent imaging modality for risk stratification.
- CAC-guided behavioral changes and therapeutic interventions are cost-effective.
- CAC assessment enhances cardiovascular risk prediction, especially in high-risk subgroups.
Abstract:
Coronary artery disease (CAD) is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality worldwide. Despite many advances in prevention and therapy for CAD, a third to one-half of cardiovascular events occur in those with no prior symptoms. Assessing subclinical disease using coronary artery calcium (CAC) has been shown to provide additional risk stratification and to improve prediction of cardiovascular events over traditional strategies such as the Framingham Risk Score. In this review, we aim to cover the current data available on utilization of CAC as a tool in the general population as well as in targeted subgroups such as those with diabetes and metabolic syndrome. For this review, the authors performed thorough Pubmed and Medline searches using keywords coronary artery calcification, X-ray computed tomography, multidetector computed tomography, CAD, diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome. Based on the authors' review of literature, they believe that CAC is an excellent risk stratification imaging modality, especially in patients with diabetes and metabolic syndrome; behavioral changes in patients and therapeutic interventions based on CAC scoring are cost-effective.
More Related Videos
06:57Author Spotlight: Advancing Cardiovascular Imaging - Introducing the Spatially Weighted Calcium Score for Early Disease Detection
Published on: September 22, 2023
11:30A Semi-Automated and Reproducible Biological-Based Method to Quantify Calcium Deposition In Vitro
Published on: June 2, 2022
Related Concept Videos
01:25Imaging Studies for Cardiovascular System VI: Calcium -Scoring CT
01:26Coronary Artery Disease IV: Preventive Measures
01:30Coronary Artery Disease I: Introduction
01:27Coronary Artery Disease V: Interprofessional Care
01:28Imaging Studies for Cardiovascular System V: CT
01:20Imaging Studies for Cardiovascular System III: X-Ray
Definition and Purpose
An X-ray, or radiograph, is a non-invasive method that uses ionizing radiation to take images of internal structures. It is mainly used in cardiac imaging to examine the heart, lungs, and major blood vessels, aiming to identify abnormalities in the heart's size, shape, and position, such as heart failure, congenital defects, and vascular...