Association Between Coronary Artery Calcium Score and Right Ventricular Dysfunction: Insights from Combined...

Background: Coronary artery calcium score (CACS) is a well-established marker of coronary atherosclerotic burden and cardiovascular risk. While its association with left ventricular dysfunction has been extensively investigated, the relationship between CACS and right ventricular (RV) function remains insufficiently explored. This study aimed to evaluate the association between CACS and echocardiographic RV function parameters and to explore the discriminatory ability of CACS for identifying patients meeting predefined echocardiographic thresholds of RV dysfunction in patients with suspected stable coronary artery disease (CAD). Methods: This retrospective observational study included 96 patients who underwent coronary computed tomography angiography and transthoracic echocardiography within a 3-month interval. CACS was calculated using the Agatston method. RV function was assessed using tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE), right ventricular fractional area change (RV-FAC), and tissue Doppler-derived systolic velocity (S'). Correlation analyses, subgroup comparisons, multivariable linear regression, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses, decision curve analysis (DCA), and calibration analyses were performed. Results: CACS demonstrated significant inverse correlations with TAPSE (r = -0.42, p < 0.001), RV-FAC (r = -0.36, p = 0.002), and S' (r = -0.31, p = 0.006). Patients with higher CACS values exhibited progressively impaired RV systolic function. In multivariable regression analyses, higher CACS remained associated with lower TAPSE, RV-FAC, and S' after adjustment for age, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus. Exploratory ROC analyses demonstrated moderate discriminatory performance, with AUC values ranging from 0.70 to 0.76. DCA suggested a potential net benefit across a range of threshold probabilities, while bootstrap calibration analysis demonstrated acceptable agreement between predicted and observed outcomes. Conclusions: In this retrospective single-center cohort, higher CACS values were associated with lower conventional echocardiographic measures of right ventricular systolic function. However, given the selected study population, relatively small sample size, limited clinical and instrumental characterization, potential residual confounding, and absence of external validation, these findings should be considered exploratory. The present data do not establish CACS as a clinical predictor of right ventricular dysfunction or support its use for clinical decision-making.