Coronary Artery Calcium Score Could Help Predict Overall Health And All-cause Mortality

In a caller study of much than 40,000 patients, researchers astatine Intermountain Health successful Salt Lake City person recovered that patients who person nary grounds of calcium successful their coronary arteries are not only importantly little apt to dice from bosom conditions – including bosom attacks and bosom failure– but besides are astatine reduced consequence of decease from non-cardiac aesculapian conditions.

Coronary artery calcium (CAC) is simply a beardown predictor of really apt personification is to create objective coronary artery disease. It is an fantabulous measurement of coronary plaque burden.

When cholesterol-laden plaque builds up successful nan coronary arteries, humor travel to bosom musculus is limited, and plaque rupture pinch coronary thrombosis tin artifact disconnected humor travel completely, starring to unstable angina aliases a bosom attack.

As plaques age, they pull calcium, which tin beryllium imaged pinch computed tomography. If personification has a coronary artery calcium (CAC) people of zero, nan chance that their coronary arteries are clear of precocious plaques is very high. If CAC is present, past their consequence of a early bosom onslaught is overmuch greater and successful proportionality to nan CAC score. 

In nan Intermountain Health study, researchers recovered that patients pinch immoderate level of coronary artery calcium person much than 2 times greater consequence of dying of immoderate aesculapian information than patients pinch nary grounds of CAC – including aesculapian conditions not related to bosom health.

We cognize that not having immoderate coronary artery calcium is simply a predictor of being successful bully coronary health, but we were amazed to find that it whitethorn besides beryllium a motion you're successful bully wide health."

Jeffrey L. Anderson, MD, distinguished objective and investigation expert astatine Intermountain Health and main interrogator of nan study

"Someone's coronary artery calcium people could beryllium a much powerful predictor of a person's wide wellness than we antecedently thought. We don't cognize nan system for this extended benefit, but coronary plaque whitethorn beryllium correlated pinch plaque successful humor vessels successful different parts of nan body, and having atherosclerosis whitethorn besides negatively effect immune surveillance, an important protective system against cancer."

Findings from nan study were presented astatine nan American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2025 successful New Orleans connected Saturday, Nov. 8.

In nan large, retrospective study, Intermountain researchers reviewed nan aesculapian records of 40,018 Intermountain Health patients, whose doctors wished they were astatine consequence of having aliases processing bosom disease, and arsenic portion of that care, underwent a PET/CT accent test.

Of nan patients successful nan study, 7,967 had nary grounds of coronary artery calcium, and 32,051 had immoderate levels of CAC. Researchers past followed up pinch patients for 5 years and reviewed all-cause mortality of group pinch a CAC people of zero compared to those pinch a CAC people of greater than zero. 

Researchers recovered that group who had immoderate level of coronary artery calcium were 2 to 3 times much apt to person died than those without CAC successful those 5 years.

Even much surprising, of those pinch CAC who died, only astir 1 4th did truthful from cardiovascular disease. That intends astir of these patients died of thing else, i.e., non-cardiovascular diseases.

Researchers opportunity they're not judge why patients' all-cause mortality rates were higher for those pinch grounds of coronary artery calcium. The adjacent measurement successful this research, they say, is to analyse those non-cardiovascular deaths, and amended stratify nan causes down them.

"This whitethorn thief uncover nan system of why a coronary artery calcium people predicts decease owed to non-coronary artery problems," said Dr. Anderson. "It's not clear to america correct now, and it requires much study, but it's a very absorbing study and suggests that coronary artery calcium has prognostic worth beyond conscionable bosom attacks and different bosom -related causes."