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Identifying Coronary Artery Calcification on Non-gated Computed Tomography Scans
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Identifying Coronary Artery Calcification on Non-gated Computed Tomography Scans

Published on: August 28, 2018

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Aortic root, not valve, calcification correlates with coronary artery calcification in patients with severe aortic

Michael Henein1, Peter Hällgren1, Anders Holmgren1

  • 1Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Umeå University and Heart Centre, Sweden.

Atherosclerosis
|November 10, 2015
PubMed

Insights

Coronary artery calcification correlates with aortic root calcification, suggesting diffuse arterial disease. Aortic valve calcification does not correlate with coronary calcification, indicating a different pathology in aortic stenosis patients.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular Imaging
  • Atherosclerosis Research
  • Cardiac CT Analysis

Background:

  • Aortic stenosis (AS) and coronary artery stenosis (CAS) share underlying pathologies like atherosclerosis and calcification.
  • A hypothesis posits that coronary artery calcification (CAC) correlates more with aortic root calcification (ARC) than aortic valve calcification (AVC) due to tissue similarities.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the correlation between coronary artery calcification (CAC) and calcification in different parts of the aorta (aortic valve - AVC and aortic root - ARC).
  • To explore potential differences in calcification patterns based on aortic valve morphology (bicuspid vs. tricuspid).

Main Methods:

  • Utilized multidetector cardiac CT in 212 patients undergoing aortic valve replacement for AS.
  • Quantified CAC, AVC, and ARC using Agatston scoring.
  • Analyzed correlations using Spearman's test and compared subgroups (bicuspid aortic valve vs. tricuspid aortic valve) with Mann-Whitney U-test.

Main Results:

  • CAC correlated significantly with ARC (rho=0.51, p<0.001) but not with AVC.
  • Calcified coronary arteries also correlated with ARC (rho=0.45, p<0.001), but not AVC.
  • CAC was higher in patients with atherosclerosis risk factors and associated with tricuspid aortic valves after age adjustment.

Conclusions:

  • The correlation between CAC and ARC supports the concept of diffuse arterial disease.
  • The lack of correlation between CAC and AVC suggests distinct pathophysiological mechanisms for valve versus root calcification.
Abstract

Keywords:
Aortic root calcificationAortic stenosisAortic valve calcificationCoronary artery calcification

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