Calcium in Arteries to Increase Risk of Heart Attack
WASHINGTON (Dispatches) -- New research findings show that identifying the presence or absence of coronary artery calcium (CAC) in a patient’s arteries can help determine their future risk.
A new research study presented at the American College Cardiology Scientific Sessions from the Intermountain Healthcare Heart Institute in Salt Lake City shows that identifying the presence or absence of coronary artery calcium (CAC) in a patients' arteries can help determine their future risk.
"Through these results, we're seeing more clearly that the presence of coronary artery calcium can help us to predict who is more likely to have a cardiac event, not only later in life, but when symptoms are present, in the near future and hopefully, medically intervene in time to stop it," said Viet T. Le, PA-C, principal investigator and researcher at the Intermountain Healthcare Heart Institute in Salt Lake City.
For the study, researchers identified 5,547 patients without a history of coronary artery disease who came to Intermountain Medical Center with chest pain between April 2013 and June 2016.
These patients had undergone PET/CT scans to assess for ischemia, a disruption of normal blood flow through the heart arteries to the muscle tissues of the heart. This scan also looks for the presence of CAC, which are calcium deposits on the walls of the heart's arteries, indicating atherosclerosis, or plaque, the hallmark of heart disease. The researchers then examined patients' medical outcomes for up to the next four years.
A new research study presented at the American College Cardiology Scientific Sessions from the Intermountain Healthcare Heart Institute in Salt Lake City shows that identifying the presence or absence of coronary artery calcium (CAC) in a patients' arteries can help determine their future risk.
"Through these results, we're seeing more clearly that the presence of coronary artery calcium can help us to predict who is more likely to have a cardiac event, not only later in life, but when symptoms are present, in the near future and hopefully, medically intervene in time to stop it," said Viet T. Le, PA-C, principal investigator and researcher at the Intermountain Healthcare Heart Institute in Salt Lake City.
For the study, researchers identified 5,547 patients without a history of coronary artery disease who came to Intermountain Medical Center with chest pain between April 2013 and June 2016.
These patients had undergone PET/CT scans to assess for ischemia, a disruption of normal blood flow through the heart arteries to the muscle tissues of the heart. This scan also looks for the presence of CAC, which are calcium deposits on the walls of the heart's arteries, indicating atherosclerosis, or plaque, the hallmark of heart disease. The researchers then examined patients' medical outcomes for up to the next four years.