Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 18, 2026
Identifying Coronary Artery Calcification on Non-gated Computed Tomography Scans
Published on: August 28, 2018
Shift Work and the Risk of Coronary Artery Disease: A Cardiac Computed Tomography Angiography Study
Ofer Havakuk1, Nufar Zukerman, Nir Flint
1Department of Cardiology, Tel Aviv Medical Center, affiliated to Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Insights
Shift workers exhibit a greater prevalence and extent of coronary artery disease (CAD) compared to non-shift workers. This cardiac computed tomography angiography (CCTA) study highlights the increased CAD burden in individuals with disrupted circadian rhythms.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Occupational Health
- Radiology
Background:
- Shift work disrupts circadian rhythms, increasing coronary artery disease (CAD) risk factors, morbidity, and mortality.
- Cardiac computed tomography angiography (CCTA) is a key noninvasive tool for assessing CAD presence, extent, and severity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between shift work and CAD burden.
- To compare CAD prevalence and severity in shift workers versus non-shift workers.
Main Methods:
- A historically prospective study involving patients undergoing CCTA.
- Propensity score matching was used to compare 89 pairs of shift workers and non-shift workers.
- Telephonic questionnaires collected data on work schedules and health factors.
Main Results:
- Shift workers showed a higher prevalence of CAD (74.2% vs. 53.9%, p=0.01) and less frequent zero coronary calcium scores (46.8% vs. 63.4%, p=0.034).
- Greater prevalence of stenosis >50% (20.2% vs. 11.2%, p=0.006) and a trend towards higher extent of CAD (25.8% vs. 13.5%, p=0.06) were observed in shift workers.
- The study included 349 participants, with 94 (26.9%) identified as shift workers.
Conclusions:
- Shift workers present with a significantly higher prevalence and extent of coronary artery disease.
- Findings suggest shift work is associated with an increased burden of CAD, as evidenced by CCTA.
- This study underscores the importance of considering occupational factors in cardiovascular risk assessment.
Aims:
Shift work disrupts the normal circadian rhythm and is associated with risk factors for coronary artery disease (CAD) and a higher incidence of CAD morbidity and mortality. Cardiac computed tomography angiography (CCTA) is a robust noninvasive modality for assessing the presence, extent, and severity of CAD. We sought to investigate whether shift workers are prone to a higher burden of CAD compared to non-shift workers.
Methods:
We conducted a historically prospective study in consecutive patients who underwent CCTA and answered a telephonic questionnaire. Due to significant differences in age and gender, we compared 89 well-matched pairs of shift workers and non-shift workers with the use of propensity scores.
Results:
Our cohort consisted of 349 participants, of whom 94 (26.9%) were shift workers. The mean age was 50.7 years, and 62.5% were males. After pairing, we showed that shift workers had a higher prevalence of CAD than non-shift workers (74.2 vs. 53.9%, respectively, p = 0.01), and a lower prevalence of coronary calcium scores of zero (46.8 vs. 63.4%, respectively, p = 0.034). Stenosis >50% was more prevalent in shift workers than in non-shift workers (20.2 vs. 11.2%, respectively, p = 0.006), and the extent of CAD (defined as the presence of ≥1-vessel disease) tended to be higher in shift workers than in non-shift workers (25.8 vs. 13.5%, respectively, p = 0.06).
Conclusions:
In this CCTA study, we showed in a well-matched cohort of consecutive patients that shift workers had a higher prevalence and extent of CAD than non-shift workers.
More Related Videos
06:57Author Spotlight: Advancing Cardiovascular Imaging - Introducing the Spatially Weighted Calcium Score for Early Disease Detection
Published on: September 22, 2023
06:02Anatomical Reconstructions of the Human Cardiac Venous System using Contrast-computed Tomography of Perfusion-fixed Specimens
Published on: April 18, 2013
Related Concept Videos
01:28Imaging Studies for Cardiovascular System V: CT
01:25Imaging Studies for Cardiovascular System VI: Calcium -Scoring 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...
01:30Coronary Artery Disease I: Introduction
01:30Acute Coronary Syndrome III: Diagnostic Studies
01:10Computed Tomography
The technique was invented in the 1970s and is based on the principle that as X-rays pass through the body, they are absorbed or reflected at different levels. In the technique, a patient lies on a motorized platform while a computerized axial tomography (CAT) scanner rotates...