Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 14, 2026
Identifying Coronary Artery Calcification on Non-gated Computed Tomography Scans
Published on: August 28, 2018
Prognostic value of coronary calcification and angiographic stenoses in patients undergoing coronary angiography
1Saint John's Cardiovascular Research Center, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Insights
Coronary calcium scores from electron beam computed tomography moderately predict coronary heart disease events, similar to angiographic findings. This score offers valuable prognostic information for patients undergoing angiography.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Radiology
- Preventive Medicine
Background:
- Coronary calcification, coronary stenoses, and coronary heart disease (CHD) events are clinically and pathophysiologically linked.
- Assessing the prognostic value of coronary calcific deposits versus angiographic findings is crucial for risk stratification.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the prognostic value of coronary calcific deposits (using electron beam computed tomography - EBCT) and coronary angiographic findings in predicting CHD-related events.
- To evaluate the correlation between EBCT calcium scores and angiographic findings.
Main Methods:
- Four hundred ninety-one symptomatic patients underwent both coronary angiography and EBCT.
- EBCT scans were interpreted independently of clinical and angiographic data.
- Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves analyzed the relationship between EBCT and angiographic findings; patient follow-up data assessed event prediction.
Main Results:
- The coronary calcium score demonstrated moderate discriminatory power (Area Under Curve = 0.75 +/- 0.02) for predicting angiographic findings.
- A significant increase in CHD-related events (deaths, nonfatal infarctions) was observed across increasing quartiles of coronary calcium scores.
- Logistic regression revealed that the log coronary calcium score, not the number of diseased vessels, significantly predicted CHD-related events during follow-up.
Conclusions:
- EBCT-derived calcium scores show a moderate correlation with coronary angiographic findings.
- Coronary calcium scores are as effective as the number of angiographically diseased arteries in predicting CHD-related events in patients undergoing angiography.
Objectives:
This investigation sought to determine the relative prognostic value of coronary calcific deposits and coronary angiographic findings for predicting coronary heart disease-related events in patients referred for angiography.
Background:
The relation among coronary calcification, coronary stenoses and coronary heart disease-related events is of interest on a clinical as well as a pathophysiologic basis.
Methods:
Four hundred ninety-one symptomatic patients underwent coronary angiography and electron beam computed tomography at five different centers between April 1989 and December 1993. The electron beam computed tomograms were interpreted by a cardiologist with no knowledge of the coronary angiographic and clinical data. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed to determine the relation between electron beam computed tomographic and coronary angiographic findings. A follow-up telephone survey was completed in 86% of patients. The records for all patients who died or were admitted to the hospital for chest pain or suspected myocardial infarction were reviewed by three other cardiologists with no knowledge of the coronary angiographic and electron beam computed tomographic study results.
Results:
The mean (+/- SE) area under the ROC curve was 0.75 +/- 0.02 for the coronary calcium score, indicating moderate discriminatory power for this score for predicting angiographic findings. Thirteen coronary heart disease-related deaths and eight nonfatal acute infarctions occurred over 30 +/- 13 months. Scores were sorted in ascending order and divided into quartiles of equal size. One patient in the first quartile had a fatal myocardial infarction (coronary calcium score range 0 to 2.1); 2 in the second quartile (range 2.1 to 75.3), 8 in the third quartile (range 75.3 to 397.1) and 10 in the fourth quartile (> 397.1) had a coronary heart disease-related event. Application of bivariate logistic regression showed that log score but not number of angiographically diseased vessels significantly predicted the probability of a coronary heart disease-related event occurring during follow-up.
Conclusions:
Electron beam computed tomographic calcium scores correlate moderately well with angiographic findings. These scores predict coronary heart disease-related events in patients undergoing angiography as well as do the number of angiographically affected arteries.
More Related Videos
10:03Coronary Progenitor Cells and Soluble Biomarkers in Cardiovascular Prognosis after Coronary Angioplasty
Published on: January 28, 2020
06:57Semi-Automatic Graphical Tool for Measuring Coronary Artery Spatially Weighted Calcium Score from Gated Cardiac Computed Tomography Images
Published on: September 22, 2023
Related Concept Videos
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...
01:28Imaging Studies for Cardiovascular System V: CT
01:25Imaging Studies for Cardiovascular System VI: Calcium -Scoring CT
01:30Coronary Artery Disease I: Introduction
01:27Coronary Artery Disease V: Interprofessional Care
01:30Acute Coronary Syndrome III: Diagnostic Studies