Written by James Gamble via SWNS

Calcium levels in the arteries can predict heart attack risk and help avoid unnecessary surgery, according to a new study.

Researchers say the new test assesses cardiovascular risk in patients experiencing chest pain and could help patients avoid invasive heart surgery.

Scientists have found that people with high scores for plaque buildup in their coronary arteries have a higher risk of having a heart attack or stroke.

However, people who experience chest pain and have low coronary artery calcium scores can avoid the potentially dangerous procedure of inserting a catheter into the heart.

The study, published in the journal Radiology of the Radiological Society of North America, evaluated the value of coronary artery calcium scores on major adverse cardiovascular events in 1,749 people with an average age of 60 years.

Participants were selected from the DISCHARGE trial, the largest ever research project on chest pain involving 26 centers in 16 European countries.

All participants had stable chest pain and were recommended to undergo invasive coronary angiography (a test in which a catheter is inserted into the heart under X-ray guidance).

A contrast dye is then injected through the catheter to help the doctor visualize the heart arteries.

Participants’ coronary artery calcium scores were calculated using CT, computed tomography, and heart scans.

High scores above 400 were associated with atherosclerosis, a buildup of plaque within the arteries.

However, a low score between 1 and 399 suggests a moderate amount of plaque and a low risk of having a heart attack or stroke.

“We have been able to demonstrate that this is the first study in the BIOQIC Research and Training Group,” explained PhD student Federico Biavatti, lead author of the study and a radiology resident at Charité University in Berlin, one of Europe’s largest university hospitals. “Coronary artery calcium is a strong and independent predictor of cardiovascular events.

“The presence of coronary artery calcification indicates that atherosclerosis may have been present for some time.”

However, researchers say the absence of coronary artery calcification is a good indicator that advanced atherosclerosis is not present.

However, the role of coronary calcium in patients with stable chest pain is less clear.

Steady chest pain is a temporary but recurring symptom that can be triggered by stress, exercise, or cold.

The researchers divided patients into low-, intermediate-, and high-risk categories based on coronary artery calcium scores and followed them for an average of 3.5 years, recording any major adverse cardiovascular events.

They found that people with a coronary artery calcium score of zero had a very low risk of major adverse cardiovascular events at follow-up.

Of the 755 participants in the group, only 4, or 0.5%, experienced serious cardiovascular adverse events during follow-up.

This group also had a lower risk of obstructive coronary artery disease, at only 4.1%.

However, 14 major cardiovascular events occurred among the 743 participants with a coronary calcium score of 1:399, for a risk of 1.9%.

Meanwhile, the 251 participants in the 400+ score group had 17 similar events, giving them a significantly higher risk of 6.8%.

The researchers found no evidence of differences between men and women in major adverse cardiovascular events.

Dr. Mark Dewey, professor and associate director of radiology at Charité University, said the results show that some patients can avoid invasive heart surgery because they have a low risk score.

“This finding may indicate that a coronary calcium score of zero may play a larger role in patient management strategies,” Dr. Dewey explained.

“The results of this study suggest that patients with stable chest pain and a coronary calcium score of zero may not require invasive coronary angiography using cardiac catheterization because their risk of cardiovascular events is so low. It suggests that there is a sex.”

This study is the second from the DISCHARGE trial to be published in a radiology journal.

Initial study found that when patients with suspected coronary artery disease were classified by BMI, no difference in clinical outcomes was observed between patients who underwent initial CT management and those who underwent invasive coronary angiography. did.