Sex differences in coronary artery calcium progression: The Korea Initiatives on Coronary Artery Calcification (KOICA) registry

Elevated Iliac Calcium Score as a Marker of Coronary Calcification and Overall Atherosclerotic Risk

BACKGROUND

The initial assessment of cardiovascular risk in patients undergoing lower limb revascularization surgery is crucial to minimize complications and improve outcomes. This study aims to determine if the iliac calcium score (ICS) serves as a cardiologic risk marker by examining its correlation with the coronary calcium score (CCS) in these patients.

METHODS

This prospective observational single-center study included 248 patients with critical limb ischemia undergoing revascularization procedures from January 2022 to June 2023. Baseline characteristics such as age, gender, smoking status, comorbidities, and clinical status were recorded. CCS and ICS were calculated using preoperative computed tomography angiography. Multiple linear regression identified significant predictors of ICS, including CCS, iliac intima-media thickness (i-IMT), coronary artery disease, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and smoking.

RESULTS

The study population had a mean age of 74.4 years, 83.86% male. Significant correlations were found between ICS and CCS (Pearson r = 0.34, P < 0.001) and between ICS and i-IMT (Pearson r = 0.35, P < 0.001). Regression analysis revealed significant predictors for ICS, including CCS (coefficient = 1.808, P < 0.0001), i-IMT (coefficient = 3.11, P < 0.0001), coronary artery disease (coefficient = 11.94, P = 0.042), diabetes (coefficient = 19.59, P = 0.002), chronic kidney disease (coefficient = 11.79, P < 0.0001), and hypertension (coefficient = 22.10, P = 0.001). Dyslipidemia and smoking did not show significant associations with ICS.

CONCLUSIONS

The ICS shows a statistically significant association with the CCS and i-IMT in patients undergoing lower limb revascularization surgery. This correlation suggests that ICS reflects vascular calcification patterns like those observed in coronary arteries. Further studies are needed to explore this relationship in diverse patient populations and under varying clinical conditions.

New look at the power of zero coronary artery calcium (CAC) in Asian population: a systemic review and meta-analysis

Background

Numerous studies have validated a 5-year warranty period for heart health in Western populations with a coronary artery calcium (CAC) score of zero. While the calcium score is a crucial cardiovascular risk indicator, its interpretation in Asian populations remains unclear. This meta-analysis aimed to clarify the uncertainty surrounding the prevalence, warranty period, and prognostic implications of zero CAC scores in Asian populations. It also examined the impact of sex on subclinical CAC progression. While the calcium score is a crucial cardiovascular risk indicator, its interpretation in Asian populations remains unclear. The study aimed to shed light on these issues by exploring the specificities of subclinical CAC progression in the Asian context.

Methods

Our systematic literature search, from the study's inception to October 2023, targeted studies on subclinical CAC progression in the Asian population with a zero CAC score. We searched the Cochrane Library, and PubMed. The search terms included "zero score", "coronary calcification", "zero CAC score", and "CAC scan".

Results

We evaluated seven published studies through a meta-analysis and assessed the risk of bias using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). In this meta-analysis of three observational studies addressing zero CAC prevalence (n=7,661), the pooled prevalence of zero CAC scores in the Asian population was 18.2% [95% confidence interval (CI): 12.5-25.9%]. A significant difference in follow-up warranty period was observed between the CAC zero group and subclinical CAC progression group (mean difference, 1.26 years; 95% CI: 0.94-1.58; P<0.001). Furthermore, the conversion rate of subclinical CAC progression differed significantly between males and females (risk ratio, 2.37; 95% CI: 1.98-2.84; P<0.001). Analysis of four studies revealed a notable discrepancy in the major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE) rate between the CAC (-) and CAC (+) groups (risk ratio, 4.78; 95% CI: 2.21-10.36; P<0.001).

Conclusions

The meta-analysis of zero CAC scores in Asian populations suggested an 18.2% prevalence. A 5-year warranty period was noted, with heightened subclinical CAC progression likelihood after this duration. Additionally, sex-based differences were observed in subclinical CAC progression rates. These findings will provide clinical cardiovascular risk stratification for guiding gender-specific clinical decision-making in asymptomatic in Asian individuals.

The association between coronary artery calcification and vectorcardiography in mechanically ventilated COVID-19 patients: the Maastricht Intensive Care COVID cohort

BACKGROUND

Coronary artery calcification (CAC) is associated with poor outcome in critically ill patients. A deterioration in cardiac conduction and loss of myocardial tissue could be an underlying cause. Vectorcardiography (VCG) and cardiac biomarkers provide insight into these underlying causes. The aim of this study was to investigate whether a high degree of CAC is associated with VCG-derived variables and biomarkers, including high-sensitivity troponin-T (hs-cTnT) and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP).

METHODS

Mechanically ventilated coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) patients with an available chest computed tomography (CT) and 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) were studied. CAC scores were determined using chest CT scans. Patients were categorized into 3 sex-specific tertiles: low, intermediate, and high CAC. Daily 12 leads-ECGs were converted to VCGs. Daily hs-cTnT and NT-proBNP levels were determined. Linear mixed-effects regression models examined the associations between CAC tertiles and VCG variables, and between CAC tertiles and hs-cTnT or NT-proBNP levels.

RESULTS

In this study, 205 patients (73.2% men, median age 65 years [IQR 57.0; 71.0]) were included. Compared to the lowest CAC tertile, the highest CAC tertile had a larger QRS area at baseline (6.65 µVs larger [1.50; 11.81], p = 0.012), which decreased during admission (- 0.27 µVs per day [- 0.43; - 0.11], p = 0.001). Patients with the highest CAC tertile also had a longer QRS duration (12.02 ms longer [4.74; 19.30], p = 0.001), higher levels of log hs-cTnT (0.79 ng/L higher [0.40; 1.19], p < 0.001) and log NT-proBNP (0.83 pmol/L higher [0.30; 1.37], p = 0.002).

CONCLUSION

Patients with a high degree of CAC had the largest QRS area and higher QRS amplitude, which decreased more over time when compared to patients with a low degree of CAC. These results suggest that CAC might contribute to loss of myocardial tissue during critical illness. These insights could improve risk stratification and prognostication of patients with critical illness.

Identifying Coronary Artery Calcification Using Chest X-ray Radiographs and Machine Learning: The Role of the Radiomics Score

PURPOSE

To evaluate the ability of radiomics score (RS)-based machine learning to identify moderate to severe coronary artery calcium (CAC) on chest x-ray radiographs (CXR).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We included 559 patients who underwent a CAC scan with CXR obtained within 6 months and divided them into training (n = 391) and validation (n = 168) cohorts. We extracted radiomic features from annotated cardiac contours in the CXR images and developed an RS through feature selection with the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression in the training cohort. We evaluated the incremental value of the RS in predicting CAC scores when combined with basic clinical factor in the validation cohort. To predict a CAC score ≥100, we built an RS-based machine learning model using random forest; the input variables were age, sex, body mass index, and RS.

RESULTS

The RS was the most prominent factor for the CAC score ≥100 predictions (odds ratio = 2.33; 95% confidence interval: 1.62-3.44; P < 0.001) compared with basic clinical factor. The machine learning model was tested in the validation cohort and showed an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.808 (95% confidence interval: 0.75-0.87) for a CAC score ≥100 predictions.

CONCLUSIONS

The use of an RS-based machine learning model may have the potential as an imaging marker to screen patients with moderate to severe CAC scores before diagnostic imaging tests, and it may improve the pretest probability of detecting coronary artery disease in clinical practice.

Coronary artery calcium (CAC) score for cardiovascular risk stratification in a Thai clinical cohort: A comparison of absolute scores and age-sex-specific percentiles

Purposes

Coronary artery calcium (CAC) score provides a quantification of atherosclerotic plaque within the coronary arteries. This study aimed to examine the prevalence and CAC score distribution and to evaluate the association of each CAC score classifications with major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in a Thai clinical cohort.

Methods

This study was a retrospective observational cohort. We included patients aged above 35 years who underwent CAC score testing. The absolute and age-sex specific percentile classifications were categorized as 0, 1 to 10, 11 to 100, 101 to 400, and >400 and 0, <75th, 75th - 90th, and >90th, respectively. The endpoint was MACE, including cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, heart failure hospitalization, coronary artery revascularization procedure, and stroke. Multivariable Cox regression was used to estimate the hazard ratios. The discriminative performance between classifications were compared using Harrell's C-statistics. The agreement was assessed via Cohen's Kappa.

Results

This study included 440 patients, with approximately 70% of Thai patients exhibiting a CAC score. CAC score distributed higher in male than female and increased with age. Both CAC score classification demonstrated the acceptable predictive performance. However, fair agreement was observed between classifications (Cohen's kappa 0.51, 95%CI 0.42-0.59). Within the absolute classification, a higher CAC score was associated with increased hazard ratios for MACE across stratified age-sex-specific percentile levels. In contrast, the hazard ratios for MACE did not consistently rise with higher age-sex-specific percentile CAC score when stratified by absolute CAC score levels.

Conclusions

Both absolute and age-sex-specific percentile CAC score demonstrated acceptable performance in predicting MACE. However, the absolute CAC score classification may be more suitable for risk stratification within the Thai clinical cohort. Our findings offer supportive information that could inform future recommendations for CAC score testing criteria within national clinical practice guidelines.

Assessment of Normal Systolic Blood Pressure Maintenance with the Risk of Coronary Artery Calcification Progression in Asymptomatic Metabolically Healthy Korean Adults with Normal Weight, Overweight, and Obesity

Metabolically healthy obesity (MHO) is known to have a close association with subclinical coronary atherosclerosis. Despite recent data on the benefit of intensive systolic blood pressure (SBP) control in diverse clinical conditions, little is known regarding the association of normal SBP maintenance (SBP_maintain) with coronary artery calcification (CAC) progression in MHO. This study included 2724 asymptomatic adults (48.8 ± 7.8 years; 77.9% men) who had no metabolic abnormalities except overweight and obesity. Participants with normal weight (44.2%), overweight (31.6%), and obesity (24.2%) were divided into two groups: normal SBP_maintain (follow-up SBP < 120 mm Hg) and ≥elevated SBP_maintain (follow-up SBP ≥ 120 mm Hg). CAC progression was defined using the SQRT method, a difference of ≥2.5 between the square root (√) of the baseline and follow-up coronary artery calcium score. During a mean follow-up of 3.4 years, the proportion of normal SBP_maintain (76.2%, 65.2%, and 59.1%) and the incidence of CAC progression (15.0%, 21.3%, and 23.5%) was different in participants with normal weight, overweight, and obesity (all p < 0.05, respectively). The incidence of CAC progression was lower in the normal SBP_maintain group than in the ≥elevated SBP_maintain group in only participants with obesity (20.8% vs. 27.4%, p = 0.048). In multiple logistic models, compared to participants with normal weight, those with obesity had a higher risk of CAC progression. Normal SBP_maintain was independently associated with the decreased risk of CAC progression in participants with obesity. MHO had a significant association with CAC progression. Normal SBP_maintain reduced the risk of CAC progression in asymptomatic adults with MHO.

Shock Wave Intravascular Lithotripsy: Shock the Rock

Complex coronary artery disease with severe coronary calcification can be challenging to treat, with a higher risk of procedural complications and major adverse cardiac events. Intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) is a pioneering technology for the treatment of critically calcified coronaries. IVL utilizing localized pulsatile sonic pressure waves at low pressure provides a novel approach for lesion preparation of severely calcified plaques. The deliverability and ease of use are also likely to increase access and use of IVL, and combination therapy with other devices shows promise.

Statin therapy for primary prevention in men: What is the role for coronary artery calcium?

Current cholesterol guidelines for primary prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) base statin treatment decisions on multiple risk factor algorithms (e.g., Pooled Cohort Equations [PCEs]). By available PCEs, most older middle-aged men are statin eligible. But several studies cast doubt on predictive accuracy of available PCEs for ASCVD risk assessment. Recent studies suggest that accuracy can be improved by measurement of coronary artery calcium (CAC). This method has the advantage of identifying men at low risk in whom statin therapy can be delayed for several years, provided they are monitored periodically for progression of CAC. Thus, there are two approaches to statin therapy in men ≥ 55 years: first all men could be treated routinely, or second, treatment can be based on the extent of coronary calcium. The latter could allow a sizable fraction of men to avoid treatment for several years or indefinitely. Whether with initial CAC scan or with periodic rescanning, a CAC score ≥ 100 Agatston units is high enough to warrant statin therapy. In otherwise high-risk men (e.g., diabetes, severe hypercholesterolemia, 10-year risk by PCE ≥ 20%), a statin is generally indicated without the need for CAC; but in special cases, CAC measurement may aid in treatment decisions.