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Association Between Abdominal Visceral Artery Calcification and All-Cause Mortality-A Computerized Tomography

Umar Sadat1,2, Neethu Billy Graham Mariam1, Ammara Usman2,3

  • 1Cambridge Vascular Unit, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, United Kingdom.

Angiology
|September 6, 2018
PubMed

Insights

Abdominal visceral artery calcification (AVAC) is linked to increased mortality risk in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD). This study highlights AVAC as a significant predictor of all-cause mortality in this population.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular Medicine
  • Radiology
  • Vascular Biology

Background:

  • Arterial calcification predicts mortality across various arterial beds.
  • The link between abdominal visceral artery calcification and mortality is not well understood.
  • Peripheral artery disease (PAD) patients often have widespread atherosclerosis.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between abdominal visceral artery calcification (AVAC) and all-cause mortality.
  • To introduce and validate a novel scoring system for AVAC.
  • To explore AVAC as a mortality predictor in PAD patients.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective analysis of contrast-enhanced CT scans from PAD patients.
  • Calculation of a novel abdominal visceral arteries calcium (AVAC) score using a modified Agatston method.
  • Assessment of all-cause mortality as the primary outcome over a median follow-up of 72 months.

Main Results:

  • Cumulative AVAC score and hypertension were significantly associated with all-cause mortality (P < .05).
  • Out of 89 analyzed patients, 35 (39%) died during the follow-up period.
  • The study identified a significant association between cumulative AVAC and mortality.

Conclusions:

  • Cumulative visceral abdominal artery calcification is a significant predictor of all-cause mortality in patients with PAD.
  • Further research is needed to confirm these findings in larger cohorts and other patient groups.
  • AVAC may represent a novel risk stratification tool for cardiovascular outcomes.

Keywords:
Agatston scorearterial stiffnessatherosclerosiscalciumhypertension

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