Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 28, 2026

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

Association of Coronary Artery Calcium Score with Cardiovascular Outcomes in Patients Without Known Coronary Artery

Snežana Bjelić1,2, Dragana Dabović1,2, Teodora Čekić2

  • 1Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia.

Life (Basel, Switzerland)
|May 27, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Elevated coronary artery calcium score (CACS) shows a borderline association with major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) but correlates with traditional risk factors. CACS may supplement existing cardiovascular risk assessment models.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Radiology
  • Preventive Medicine

Background:

  • Elevated coronary artery calcium (CAC) is linked to higher cardiovascular and all-cause mortality.
  • Coronary artery calcium score (CACS) can enhance cardiovascular risk assessment, especially in primary prevention.
  • Traditional risk models may not fully capture risk in all populations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess the association between CACS and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE).
  • To evaluate the relationship between CACS and conventional cardiovascular risk models.
  • To analyze CACS utility in patients without established coronary artery disease.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective analysis of patients over 40 with cardiovascular risk factors undergoing computed tomography coronary angiography.
  • Collected data included cardiovascular risk factors, medication use, ASCVD score, MESA score, and CACS.
  • Multivariable analysis was performed to identify predictors of MACE.

Main Results:

  • Among 100 patients, 47% had intermediate ASCVD risk; median CACS was 65.0.
  • CACS demonstrated significant associations with ASCVD and MESA scores.
  • Glucose level, ASCVD score, and MESA score predicted MACE; CACS showed a borderline association.

Conclusions:

  • CACS reflects overall cardiovascular risk burden.
  • CACS may offer supplementary value when integrated with conventional risk assessment approaches.
  • Further prospective studies are required to validate these exploratory findings.

Keywords:
cardiovascular riskcoronary artery calciumcoronary artery diseasemajor adverse cardiovascular eventsrisk stratificationscore

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