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Identifying Coronary Artery Calcification on Non-gated Computed Tomography Scans
Published on: August 28, 2018
Coronary artery calcium score: a review
1Radiology Department, Modarres Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran ; Advanced Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology Research Center (ADIR), Tehran, IR Iran.
Insights
Coronary artery calcium scoring (CACS) provides early diagnosis of coronary artery disease (CAD), a leading cause of death. This review discusses CACS techniques and its role in risk assessment for cardiac events.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Imaging and Diagnostics
- Medical Technology Assessment
Background:
- Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a leading global cause of mortality, necessitating early detection strategies.
- Coronary artery calcium scoring (CACS) via electron beam computed tomography (EBCT) and multislice computed tomography (MSCT) has been utilized for over two decades for early CAD diagnosis.
- Extensive research has explored the association of CACS with other bodily organs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the techniques of CACS using EBCT and MSCT scanners.
- To examine the clinical and research indications for CACS.
- To discuss past and ongoing research related to CACS and its findings.
Main Methods:
- Systematic literature search of PubMed, ISI Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Scopus databases.
- Inclusion of studies from the late 1970s through July 2013.
- Synthesis and discussion of selected research findings and CACS applications.
Main Results:
- CACS is widely employed for the early detection of CAD.
- CACS has demonstrated utility in various other research domains beyond initial CAD screening.
Conclusions:
- CACS has significantly advanced CAD screening methodologies, enabling earlier detection.
- CACS is recognized as a standard reference for assessing the risk of future cardiac events.
Context:
Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the foremost cause of death in many countries and hence, its early diagnosis is usually concerned as a major healthcare priority. Coronary artery calcium scoring (CACS) using either electron beam computed tomography (EBCT) or multislice computed tomography (MSCT) has been applied for more than 20 years to provide an early CAD diagnosis in clinical routine practice. Moreover, its association with other body organs has been a matter of vast research.
Evidence Acquisition:
In this review article, techniques of CACS using EBCT and MSCT scanners as well as clinical and research indications of CACS are searched from PubMed, ISI Web of Science, Google Scholar and Scopus databases in a time period between late 1970s through July 2013 and following appropriate selection, dealt with. Moreover, the previous and ongoing research subjects and their results are discussed.
Results:
The CACS is vastly applied in early detection of CAD and in many other research fields.
Conclusions:
CACS has remarkably changed the screening techniques to detect CAD earlier than before and is generally accepted as a standard of reference for determination of risk of further cardiac events.
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