Overview
- At the AHA Scientific Sessions on Nov. 8, Intermountain Health presented two analyses on coronary artery calcium (CAC) CT scanning.
- CAC scans in the CorCal trial uncovered other potentially significant findings in 247 of 2,284 patients (8.5%), most commonly lung abnormalities.
- Among follow-up cases, clinicians identified 23 thoracic aortic aneurysms, including one measuring 8 cm that led to surgery within a week.
- In a separate cohort of 40,018 patients, any CAC was associated with a 2–3× higher five-year all-cause mortality compared with a CAC score of zero.
- Only about one quarter of deaths among patients with CAC were cardiovascular, prompting planned research into mechanisms and the value of expanded radiologist review.