Coronary artery disease (CAD) is said to be a condition in which plaque may accumulate within the coronary arteries. A Henry Ford Hospital study claims that the existence of plaque on an abdominal CT scan is said to be a powerful predictor of CAD and mortality.
Study authors discovered that patients are almost 60 percent at danger of contracting coronary artery disease when the CT scan seems to exhibit exceedingly elevated levels of abdominal aortic calcium, usually called plaque. High levels of the abdominal aortic calcium also appear to augment their threat of dying.
On the other hand, study authors discovered that the lack of abdominal aortic calcium, or AAC, was said to be linked to a low risk of coronary artery disease, a chronic, progressive type of heart disease that is believed to result from an upsurge of plaque in the arteries discovered on the surface of the heart.
“If you get a CT scan on your abdomen, there’s probably a good chance that image can provide us with more information about the health of your heart arteries. This study clearly demonstrates that higher scores of abdominal aortic calcium are associated with higher rates of coronary artery disease and mortality,†commented, Mouaz Al-Mallah, M.D., director of Cardiac Imaging Research at Henry Ford and lead author of the study.
Preceding study has apparently illustrated that coronary artery calcium discovered by computed tomography or CT is said to be powerfully linked to coronary artery disease and mortality. Nevertheless, not much is apparently known about the danger linked between AAC and coronary artery disease.
Henry Ford experts examined around 367 patients who experienced an abdominal CT and cardiac catheterization in one year between January 2004 and May 2009. Patients seemed to encompass an approximate 58 percent threat of suffering coronary artery disease with an AAC score of more than 1,000 as opposed to patients who appeared to have an 11 percent risk with an AAC score of zero. Moreover, an elevated ACC score was believed to be connected to a higher risk of mortality.
The study was presented at the 59th annual American College of Cardiology Scientific Sessions in Atlanta.