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Updated: Mar 12, 2026

Calcification of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells and Imaging of Aortic Calcification and Inflammation
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Calcification of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells and Imaging of Aortic Calcification and Inflammation

Published on: May 31, 2016

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Thoracic Aorta Calcification and Risk of All-Cause Mortality and Cardiovascular Outcomes: A systematic review and

Yasir Salah Jumah Alam1, Hussein Nafakhi1, Alaa Salah Jumaah2

  • 1Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kufa, Kufa, Iraq.

Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal
|March 11, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Thoracic aorta calcification (TAC) strongly predicts mortality and cardiovascular events. This finding highlights TAC as a crucial indicator for assessing patient risk across diverse clinical scenarios.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Radiology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Thoracic aorta calcification (TAC) is increasingly recognized in cardiovascular risk assessment.
  • Understanding TAC's prognostic value across different imaging modalities and clinical settings is essential.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To systematically review and assess thoracic aorta calcification (TAC) as a predictor of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular (CV) morbidity/mortality.
  • To evaluate the impact of different imaging modalities on TAC's predictive power.

Main Methods:

  • Systematic literature search of medical databases up to mid-July 2025.
  • Inclusion of 43 studies with 176,738 participants linking TAC to mortality and CV outcomes.
  • Meta-analysis of hazard ratios (HR) for various outcomes.

Main Results:

  • TAC significantly increases risks for all-cause mortality (HR=1.614), CV mortality (HR=2.130), coronary events (HR=1.423), major adverse cardiac events (HR=2.011), and stroke (HR=1.450).
  • Computed tomography demonstrated the strongest associations (e.g., CV mortality HR=2.641).
  • Elevated mortality risk was observed across all aortic segments.

Conclusions:

  • Thoracic aorta calcification is a robust predictor of all-cause mortality, coronary events, and CV morbidity/mortality.
  • TAC assessment aids in risk stratification across various clinical contexts.
  • Imaging modality influences the strength of TAC's association with adverse outcomes.

Keywords:
AortaMorbidityMortalityPrognosisThoracic

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