(April 27, 2010 - Insidermedicine)

Taking into account the amount of calcium buildup in the coronary arteries helps improve predictions of who will develop coronary heart disease, according to research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Here is some information about the coronary artery calcium score:

•    Also referred to as the cardiac calcium score, it refers to the amount of calcium present in the plaque buildup on the coronary arteries

•    The score is obtained via computed tomography, or CT, scanning

•    Buildup of calcium in the arteries is a sign that coronary artery disease is present or developing

Researchers from Northwestern University in Chicago measured the amount of calcium in the coronary arteries of nearly 7,000 individuals participating in a study evaluating risk factors for disease of the arteries. At the outset of the study, none of the participants had cardiovascular disease, and those with diabetes were excluded from the analysis. The researchers used two models to assess participants’ risk for developing coronary heart disease over the subsequent five years. The first model took into account the participants’ age, sex, tobacco use, systolic blood pressure, use of medication that lowers blood pressure, total LDL and HDL cholesterol, and race/ethnicity. The second model used all of these risk factors plus coronary artery calcium score.

Among the nearly 6,000 participants who were included in the final analysis, over 200 had a coronary artery disease event such as a heart attack during the nearly six years of follow-up. Adding coronary calcium score to the risk analysis significantly improved the degree to which the investigators were able to predict who would have such an event. In fact, adding this score to the analysis meant that an additional 23% of participants who actually had a coronary event would be identified as high risk while an additional 13% of those who did not have a coronary event would be classified as low risk.

We spoke with Dr. Philip Greenland, MD, one of the investigator's of this study, who offered some further insight. 

Today’s research highlights the importance of taking coronary artery calcium score into account when determining one’s degree of risk for heart disease.