Coronary calcium distribution tied to heart attack risk

The results showed that diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidemia (abnormal concentrations of lipids [fats] or lipoproteins in the blood) were highly associated with calcium coverage score. The study also found that the calcium coverage score—which takes into account the location of the calcium—was a better predictor of future cardiac events than currently used measures that gauge only the amount of calcium present. On average, compared to patients without diabetes, patients with diabetes had 44 percent more of their coronary arteries affected by plaque. A twofold increase in calcium coverage score indicated a 34 percent increase in risk of heart attack or other serious cardiac event and a 52 percent increase in the risk of any cardiac event.

“Calcium coverage scoring has the potential to improve our estimate of a patient’s risk for adverse clinical outcomes, such as heart attacks or death,” Dr. Brown said.

“Coronary Calcium Coverage Score: Determination, Correlates, and Predictive Accuracy in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.” Collaborating with Dr. Brown were Richard A. Kronmal, Ph.D. (University of Washington), David A. Bluemke, M.D., Ph.D. (Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore), Alan D. Guerci, M.D. (Heart Center, St. Francis Hospital, Roslyn, N.Y.), J. Jeffrey Carr, M.D. (Wake Forest University Health Sciences, Winston-Salem, N.C.), Jonathan Goldin, Ph.D. (UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles) and Robert Detrano, M.D. (University of California, Irvine). Journal attribution requested.

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