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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

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Coronary artery calcium score as a predictor for incident stroke: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Kongkiat Chaikriangkrai1, Hye Yeon Jhun2, Ghanshyam Palamaner Subash Shantha1

  • 1University of Iowa Hospital: Heart and Vascular Center, United States.

International Journal of Cardiology
|February 17, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Coronary artery calcium score (CACS) predicts stroke risk in asymptomatic individuals. Higher CACS indicates increased stroke incidence, even in those without known heart disease.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Neurology
  • Radiology

Background:

  • Coronary artery calcium score (CACS) is used for cardiovascular risk stratification.
  • Its predictive value for incident stroke is debated.
  • This study assesses CACS from non-contrast ECG-gated CT for stroke prediction.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the predictive capability of CACS for incident stroke.
  • To determine if CACS can identify stroke risk in asymptomatic individuals.
  • To analyze the association between CACS severity and stroke incidence.

Main Methods:

  • Systematic literature search of PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases.
  • Inclusion of prospective longitudinal studies reporting CACS and stroke incidence.
  • Meta-analysis of stroke incidence in patients with and without coronary calcification.

Main Results:

  • Analysis of 13,262 asymptomatic patients followed for a median of 5 years.
  • Pooled stroke incidence was 0.26% per year.
  • CACS > 0 was associated with a 2.95-fold increased risk of incident stroke (p<0.001).
  • Stroke incidence increased with CACS severity: 0.12% (CACS 0) to 0.70% (CACS ≥400).

Conclusions:

  • Stroke incidence is low in asymptomatic individuals without apparent cardiovascular disease.
  • Presence and severity of coronary artery calcification are linked to future stroke risk.
  • CACS is a valuable tool for identifying stroke risk in this population.
Abstract

Keywords:
Calcium scoreCerebrovascular diseaseComputed angiographyCoronary artery diseaseCoronary calcificationStroke

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