Lesion- and vessel-specific coronary artery calcium scores are superior to whole-heart Agatston and volume scores in the diagnosis of obstructive coronary artery disease

Lesion-specific coronary artery calcium score to predict stent underexpansion

Background

Previous intracoronary imaging studies have shown that coronary artery calcium (CAC) is an independent risk factor of stent underexpansion; however, limited preintervention assessments of CAC have been performed using noninvasive methods. We aimed to determine the association between lesion-specific CAC score and stent underexpansion.

Methods

In this retrospective observational study, we included 416 lesions from 359 patients who underwent intravascular ultrasound (IVUS)-guided stent implantation. CAC of each lesion was quantified using the Agatston method derived from either nongated noncontrast chest CT (NCCT) or electrocardiogram-gated coronary CT angiography (CCTA). The primary endpoint was stent underexpansion defined as minimum stent area of <80% of the average reference lumen area.

Results

Overall, stent underexpansion occurred in 144 (34.6%) of 416 lesions. Lesion-specific CAC score was significantly negatively correlated with the stent expansion rate (in NCCT cohort, r = 0.8113, P < 0.05; in CCTA cohort, r = 0.8024, P < 0.05). The optimal cutoff values of lesion-specific CAC score to predict stent underexpansion were >200 in both NCCT (sensitivity, 91.4%; specificity, 66.8%) and CCTA (sensitivity, 84.6%; specificity, 64.3%) cohort, which were associated with 24.94-fold increased risk of stent underexpansion in NCCT cohort and 13.56-fold increased risk of stent underexpansion in CCTA cohort.

Conclusions

In this study, we found that lesion-specific CAC scores in both NCCT and CCTA cohorts were significantly independently associated with an increased risk of stent underexpansion, and the cutoff value to predict stent underexpansion was >200.

Relationship Between Coronary Artery Calcium Score and Vulnerability of Culprit Plaque Assessed by OCT in Patients With Established Coronary Artery Disease

BACKGROUND

Coronary artery calcium score (CACS) is widely used for risk stratification. However, in patients with established coronary artery disease, its clinical implication and relationship with plaque vulnerability are unclear. We sought to correlate the CACS and plaque vulnerability assessed by optical coherence tomography.

METHODS

Patients with coronary artery disease who had CACS and optical coherence tomography before percutaneous coronary intervention were included. Patients were divided into 5 groups based on CACS: CACS of 0, 1 to 99, 100 to 399, 400 to 999, and ≥1000. Optical coherence tomography-derived vulnerable features in culprit plaque were compared between the groups.

RESULTS

In 460 patients, the prevalence of lipid-rich plaque, macrophage, and cholesterol crystal significantly differed among the 5 groups, being lowest in the patients with a CACS of 0. The prevalence of thin-cap fibroatheroma tended to be lower in those with a CACS of 0. No significant difference in vulnerable features was observed between the 4 groups with CACS >0. In the 2-group comparison between the group with a CACS of 0 and the other 4 groups combined, the prevalence of lipid-rich plaque (60.5% versus 85.9%; P<0.001), macrophage (48.8% versus 74.1%; P<0.001), thin-cap fibroatheroma (16.3% versus 35.0%; P=0.013), and cholesterol crystal (11.6% versus 32.9%; P=0.004) was significantly lower in the patients with CACS of 0. CACS of 0 was independently negatively associated with lipid-rich plaque, macrophage, thin-cap fibroatheroma, and cholesterol crystal after adjustment for patient characteristics.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with a CACS of 0 have a significantly lower prevalence of vulnerable plaque features compared with those with CACS >0 in patients with established coronary artery disease.

REGISTRATION

URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT04523194.

Deep learning for vessel-specific coronary artery calcium scoring: validation on a multi-centre dataset

AIMS

To present and validate a fully automated, deep learning (DL)-based branch-wise coronary artery calcium (CAC) scoring algorithm on a multi-centre dataset.

METHODS AND RESULTS

We retrospectively included 1171 patients referred for a CAC computed tomography examination. Total CAC scores for each case were manually evaluated by a human reader. Next, each dataset was fully automatically evaluated by the DL-based software solution with output of the total CAC score and sub-scores per coronary artery (CA) branch [right coronary artery (RCA), left main (LM), left anterior descending (LAD), and circumflex (CX)]. Three readers independently manually scored the CAC for all CA branches for 300 cases from a single centre and formed the consensus using a majority vote rule, serving as the reference standard. Established CAC cut-offs for the total Agatston score were used for risk group assignments. The performance of the algorithm was evaluated using metrics for risk class assignment based on total Agatston score, and unweighted Cohen's Kappa for branch label assignment. The DL-based software solution yielded a class accuracy of 93% (1085/1171) with a sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of detecting non-zero coronary calcium being 97%, 93%, and 95%. The overall accuracy of the algorithm for branch label classification was 94% (LM: 89%, LAD: 91%, CX: 93%, RCA: 100%) with a Cohen's kappa of k = 0.91.

CONCLUSION

Our results demonstrate that fully automated total and vessel-specific CAC scoring is feasible using a DL-based algorithm. There was a high agreement with the manually assessed total CAC from a multi-centre dataset and the vessel-specific scoring demonstrated consistent and reproducible results.

Automated coronary artery calcium scoring using nested U-Net and focal loss

Coronary artery calcium (CAC) is a great risk predictor of the atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and CAC scores can be used to stratify the risk of heart disease. Current clinical analysis of CAC is performed using onsite semiautomated software. This semiautomated CAC analysis requires experienced radiologists and radiologic technologists and is both demanding and time-consuming. The purpose of this study is to develop a fully automated CAC detection model that can quantify CAC scores. A total of 1,811 cases of cardiac examinations involving contrast-free multidetector computed tomography were retrospectively collected. We divided the database into the Training Data Set, Validation Data Set, Testing Data Set 1, and Testing Data Set 2. The Training, Validation, and Testing Data Set 1 contained cases with clinically detected CAC; Testing Data Set 2 contained those without detected calcium. The intraclass correlation coefficients between the overall standard and model-predicted scores were 1.00 for both the Training Data Set and Testing Data Set 1. In Testing Data Set 2, the model was able to detect clinically undetected cases of mild calcium. The results suggested that the proposed model’s automated detection of CAC was highly consistent with clinical semiautomated CAC analysis. The proposed model demonstrated potential for clinical applications that can improve the quality of CAC risk stratification.

Association between coronary artery calcium score and stent expansion in percutaneous coronary intervention

BACKGROUND

Measurement of the coronary artery calcification score using multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) is a useful noninvasive test for the diagnosis of coronary artery disease. However, whether pre-intervention assessment of the target vessel coronary artery calcification (TV-CAC) score is associated with stent expansion failure and future target lesion revascularization (TLR), remains unknown. This study aimed to determine the association between the TV-CAC score measured by MDCT and stent expansion rate in patients who underwent IVUS-guided PCI for stable angina.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective observational study including 135 consecutive patients (186 target lesions) who underwent MDCT and were scheduled for the first PCI. The patients were divided into 2 groups based on the median value of the TV-CAC score. The primary outcome was the stent expansion rate measured by IVUS after stent implantation. The secondary outcome was TLR within 1 year.

RESULTS

Stent expansion rate was associated with the TV-CAC score (p < 0.001). According to the ROC curve analysis, the TV-CAC score had the largest area under the curve (AUC) for the stent expansion area of 0.90 (AUC = 0.893, p < 0.001). The TV-CAC score was a positive predictor for stent expansion rate of <90% (odds ratio: 7.54, p < 0.001). Mediation analysis showed that stent under-expansion was a mediator of the association between high TV-CAC and TLR.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study demonstrates that pre-intervention assessment of TV-CAC using MDCT is a predictor of stent expansion. The TV-CAC score might predict the complexity and help in the PCI operative strategy.

Matyja T, Rogers E, Nyce S, Patiño D, Kumar A, Kemmer N. Pre-Liver Transplant Coronary Artery Disease Workup for Low-Risk Patients

Background

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a leading cause of mortality following orthotopic liver transplant, yet there is no standardized protocol for pre-liver-transplant coronary artery disease assessment. The main objective of this study was to determine the agreement between 2 methods of cardiac risk assessment: dobutamine stress echocardiogram (DSE) and coronary calcium score (CCS) and to determine which test was best able to predict coronary calcification in low-risk patients.

Methods

A retrospective study was performed using the medical records of 436 patients who received cardiac clearance for a liver transplant. A total of 152 patients’ medical records were included based on the inclusion of patients who had received both DSE and CCS. A kappa coefficient was calculated to determine the agreement between the DSE and CCS results. In addition, the positive predictive values (PPVs) of both the CCS and DSE along with cardiac catheterization indicating abdominal occlusion were analyzed to compare the accuracy of the 2 tests.

Results

It was determined that there was a 12% agreement between DSE results and CCS. It was found that the DSE had a PPV of 56% and the CCS had a PPV of 80%.

Conclusion

From this data, it was concluded that there was no agreement between the results of the CCS and the DSE. While neither the CCS nor the DSE presents an optimal method of risk assessment, the CCS had a much higher PPV and was therefore determined to be the more accurate test.

Diagnostic value of quantitative coronary flow reserve and myocardial blood flow estimated by dynamic 320 MDCT scanning in patients with obstructive coronary artery disease

We have developed the method for dynamic 320-row multidetector computed tomography (MDCT)-derived quantitative coronary flow reserve (CFRCT) and hyperemic myocardial blood flow (MBFCT). We evaluated diagnostic value of CFRCT and hyperemic MBFCT for detecting obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) in per-patient and per-vessel analysis, and their relations with the severity of CAD burden.Adenosine stressed and rest dynamic myocardial perfusion MDCT were prospectively performed in patients with known or suspected CAD. Per-patient and per-vessel MBFCT were estimated from dynamic perfusion images in rest and hyperemic phases, and per-patient and per-vessel CFRCT were calculated from the ratio of rest and hyperemic MBFCT. Degree of stenosis was evaluated by coronary CT angiography (CTA) and invasive coronary angiography (ICA). Obstructive stenosis was defined as ≥70% stenosis in ICA. CAD burden with MDCT was calculated by logarithm transformed coronary artery calcium (CAC) score and the CTA-adapted Leaman risk score (CT-LeSc). A logistic regression analysis was used to measure the receiver-operating characteristic curve and corresponding area under the curve (AUC) for the detection of obstructive CAD.Twenty-seven patients and 81 vessels were eligible for this study. Sixteen patients had obstructive CAD, and 31 vessels had obstructive stenosis. Using an optimal cutoff, the CFRCT and hyperemic MBFCT had the moderate diagnostic values in per-patient (AUC = 0.89 and 0.86, respectively) and per-vessel (AUC = 0.79 and 0.76, respectively). Per-patient CFRCT and hyperemic MBFCT exhibited a moderate inverse correlation with CAC score and the CT-LeSc.Per-patient and per-vessel CFRCT as well as hyperemic MBFCT had moderate diagnostic value for detecting obstructive CAD. These per-patient values exhibited a moderate inverse correlation with CAD burden. CFRCT and hyperemic MBFCT might add quantitative functional information for evaluating patients with CAD.

Coronary Artery Calcium Scoring: Is It Time for a Change in Methodology?

Quantification of coronary artery calcium (CAC) has been shown to be reliable, reproducible, and predictive of cardiovascular risk. Formal CAC scoring was introduced in 1990, with early scoring algorithms notable for their simplicity and elegance. Yet, with little evidence available on how to best build a score, and without a conceptual model guiding score development, these scores were, to a large degree, arbitrary. In this review, we describe the traditional approaches for clinical CAC scoring, noting their strengths, weaknesses, and limitations. We then discuss a conceptual model for developing an improved CAC score, reviewing the evidence supporting approaches most likely to lead to meaningful score improvement (for example, accounting for CAC density and regional distribution). After discussing the potential implementation of an improved score in clinical practice, we follow with a discussion of the future of CAC scoring, asking the central question: do we really need a new CAC score?

Coronary Artery Calcium Distribution Is an Independent Predictor of Incident Major Coronary Heart Disease Events: Results From the Framingham Heart Study

BACKGROUND

The presence and extent of coronary artery calcium (CAC) are associated with increased risk for cardiovascular events. We determined whether information on the distribution of CAC and coronary dominance as detected by cardiac computed tomography were incremental to traditional Agatston score (AS) in predicting incident major coronary heart disease (CHD).

METHODS AND RESULTS

We assessed total AS and the presence of CAC per coronary artery, per segment, and coronary dominance by computed tomography in participants from the offspring and third-generation cohorts of the Framingham Heart Study. The primary outcome was major CHD (myocardial infarction or CHD death). We performed multivariable Cox proportional hazards analysis and calculated relative integrated discrimination improvement. In 1268 subjects (mean age, 56.2±10.3 years, 63.2% men) with AS >0 and no history of major CHD, a total of 42 major CHD events occurred during median follow-up of 7.4 years. The number of coronary arteries with CAC (hazard ratio, 1.68 per artery; 95% confidence interval, 1.10-2.57; P=0.02) and the presence of CAC in the proximal dominant coronary artery (hazard ratio, 2.59; 95% confidence interval, 1.15-5.83; P=0.02) were associated with major CHD events after multivariable adjustment for Framingham risk score and categories of AS. In addition, measures of CAC distribution improved discriminatory capacity for major CHD events (relative integrated discrimination improvement, 0.14).

CONCLUSIONS

Distribution of coronary atherosclerosis, especially CAC in the proximal dominant coronary artery and an increased number of coronary arteries with CAC, predict major CHD events independently of the traditional AS in community-dwelling men and women.

Relationship between serum osteoprotegerin and vascular calcifications in hemodialysis patients

BACKGROUND

Uremia is a vasculopathic process, and both cardiac calcification and vascular calcification seen from the early stages of chronic kidney disease. Osteoprotegerin could play a crucial role in atherosclerotic plaque formation, maturation and calcification. The goal of this study was to determine the relationship of serum osteoprotegerin with vascular calcification in patients with end stage kidney disease who were maintained on regular hemodialysis.

METHODS

Sixty clinically stable chronic renal failure patients undergoing regular hemodialysis were enrolled in this cross sectional study. Thirty patients (mean age 56.7 ± 10.5 years) with abdominal aortic calcification were selected by basal abdominal X-ray who underwent multi-slice computerized tomography scan to measure coronary artery calcification score; and thirty patients (mean age 56.5 ± 8.4 years) without abdominal aortic calcification. All patients were evaluated by serum calcium, phosphorus, albumin, lipid profile, intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH), serum creatinine, serum urea, serum uric acid, serum C-reactive protein, and hemoglobin. Serum osteoprotegerin samples were collected before dialysis and estimated by the ELISA kit.

RESULTS

Serum osteoprotegerin level was significantly higher in patients with vascular calcification than in those without calcifications. Serum osteoprotegerin correlated positively with serum phosphorus, calcium phosphorus product, alkaline phosphatase, iPTH, C-reactive protein, serum uric acid, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and left ventricular mass index (LVMI) (p < 0.005), and negatively with hemoglobin, ejection fraction (p < 0.005) and HDL (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that osteoprotegerin may be involved in the development of vascular calcification in hemodialysis patients.

Coronary artery calcium: 0.5 mm slice-thickness reconstruction with adjusted attenuation threshold outperforms 3.0 mm by validating against spatially registered intravascular ultrasound with radiofrequency backscatter

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES

Coronary artery calcium (CAC) images can be reconstructed with thinner slice thickness on some modern multidetector-row computed tomography scanners without additional radiation. We hypothesized that the isotropic 0.5-mm CAC reconstruction outperforms the conventional 3.0-mm reconstruction in detecting and quantifying coronary calcium, and we proposed to compare them by validating against spatially registered intravascular ultrasound with radiofrequency backscatter-virtual histology (IVUS-VH).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Twenty-seven patients were enrolled, and 5976 mm of coronary arteries were analyzed. A semiautomatic software was developed to coregister CAC and IVUS-VH on a detailed slice-by-slice basis. Calcium detection and calcium volume quantification were evaluated and compared using varying calcium attenuation thresholds. Algorithms for deriving individualized optimal threshold and comparable Agatston score on the 0.5-mm reconstruction were developed.

RESULTS

The isotropic 0.5-mm reconstruction achieved significantly higher area under receiver-operating curve than the conventional 3.0-mm reconstruction (0.9 vs. 0.74, P < .001). Using the optimal threshold, the 0.5-mm reconstruction had higher sensitivity (0.79 vs. 0.65), specificity (0.85 vs. 0.77), positive predictive value (0.42 vs. 0.29), and negative predictive value (0.97 vs. 0.94) than the 3.0 mm. Individualized optimal threshold was significantly correlated with the image noise (r = 0.66, P < .001) in the 0.5-mm reconstruction.

CONCLUSIONS

By optimizing the calcium threshold, the 0.5-mm reconstruction is superior to the conventional 3.0-mm in detecting and quantifying calcium, which may improve the clinical value of CAC without additional radiation.

Coronary artery calcium score in high-risk asymptomatic women in Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Coronary artery calcification (CAC) is indicated by calcium deposits in the coronary artery wall. Calcification is a component of atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease. Currently, there are no data on calcification in Saudi women at high risk of coronary artery disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and percentiles of CAC score in high-risk asymptotic women in Saudi Arabia with comparison of age-specific CAC percentiles derived from large population-based published study in the United States.

DESIGN AND SETTING

Retrospective analysis of CAC scores (CACS) at a single tertiary care center.

METHODS

Between January 2011 and April 2015, women referred for CAC screening because of the presence of one or more CAD risk factors were enrolled in the study. CT scans were interpreted by an experienced radiographic technologist, and confirmed by a radiologist.

RESULTS

The study sample consisted of 918 women, mean (SD) age of 55 (11) years. All patients were asymp.tomatic and referred by their primary care physician or cardiologist for CAC screening because presence of one or more CAD risks factors. CAD risk factors included diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, family history of CAD, and obesity. Baseline CAD risk factors were remarkably higher than in the US comparator group. CACS for 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles were calculated. The 75th and 90th CACS percentiles in Saudi women were significantly higher than the US percentiles. Age and diabetes are the most independent predictor of severity of CAC.

LIMITATIONS

A potential bias due to sample collection because data was from a single tertiary care center, the study was retrospective and the sample size was small.

CONCLUSION

There are significantly higher CACS percentiles in Saudi women compared with international data. Application of available published percentiles to a local population is not applicable and underestimates the severity of subclinical atherosclerosis. A large local population-based study is warranted to establish local CACS percentiles for a better understanding CAD screening, diagnosis, and treatment.

Correlations between aortic root calcification and coronary artery atherosclerotic markers assessed using multidetector computed tomography

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES

Atherosclerosis is a systemic process associated with arterial calcification in multiple vascular beds. This study investigated correlations between aortic root calcification (ARC) quantified using Agatston and volumetric scoring methods with coronary atherosclerotic markers (coronary artery calcification [CAC], calcified plaques, and luminal stenosis).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This cross-sectional study was carried out between January and December 2013. One hundred ninety-six consecutive patients with intermediate pretest probability of ischemic heart disease who underwent 64-slice multidetector computed tomography angiography were recruited, with 175 patients being eligible to enroll in the study.

RESULTS

A significant correlation was observed between ARC and total CAC using the Agatston and volumetric scoring methods (r = 0.225; P = .003 and r = 0.243; P = .001, respectively). With regard to individual coronary vessel calcification and ARC, a significant correlation was observed between ARC and left main stem artery calcification calculated using the volumetric and Agatston scoring methods (P < .05). A significant correlation was observed between high ARC and presence of coronary calcified plaque measured using the Agatston and volumetric scoring methods. A strong correlation was also observed between ARC and number of coronary stenotic vessels measured using the Agatston and volumetric scoring methods (r = 0.67; P < .001 and r = 0.63; P < .001, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

ARC can be used as an additional marker to assess coronary atherosclerosis and may have a complementary role with CAC for detection of coronary artery disease.

Baseline subclinical atherosclerosis burden and distribution are associated with frequency and mode of future coronary revascularization: multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of coronary artery calcium (CAC) burden and regional distribution on the need for and type of future coronary revascularization-percutaneous versus surgical (coronary artery bypass graft [CABG])-among asymptomatic subjects.

BACKGROUND

The need for coronary revascularization and the chosen mode of revascularization are thought to be functions of disease burden and anatomic distribution. The association between the baseline burden and regional distribution of CAC and the risk and type of future coronary revascularization remains unknown.

METHODS

A total of 6,540 participants in the MESA (Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis) (subjects aged 45 to 84 years, free of known baseline cardiovascular disease) with vessel-specific CAC measurements were followed for a median of 8.5 years (interquartile range: 7.7 to 8.6 years). Annualized rates and multivariate-adjusted hazard ratios for revascularization and revascularization type were analyzed according to CAC score category, number of vessels with CAC (0 to 4, including the left main coronary artery), and involvement of individual coronary arteries.

RESULTS

A total of 265 revascularizations (4.2%) occurred during follow-up, and 206 (78% of the total) were preceded by adjudicated symptoms. Revascularization was uncommon when CAC score was 0.0 (0.6%), with a graded increase over both rising CAC burden and increasingly diffuse CAC distribution. The revascularization rates per 1,000 person-years for CAC scores of 1 to 100, 101 to 400, and >400 were 4.9, 11.7, and 25.4, respectively; for 1, 2, 3, and 4 vessels with CAC, the rates were 3.0, 8.0, 16.1, and 24.8, respectively. In multivariate models adjusting for CAC score, the number of vessels with CAC remained predictive of revascularization and mode of revascularization. Independent predictors of CABG versus percutaneous coronary intervention included 3- or 4-vessel CAC, higher CAC burden, and involvement of the left main coronary artery. Risk for CABG was extremely low with <3-vessel baseline CAC. Results were similar when considering only symptom-driven revascularizations.

CONCLUSIONS

In this multiethnic cohort of asymptomatic subjects, baseline CAC was highly predictive of future coronary revascularization procedures, with measures of CAC burden and distribution each independently predicting need for percutaneous coronary intervention versus CABG over an 8.5-year follow-up.

Scoring of coronary artery calcium scans: history, assumptions, current limitations, and future directions

Coronary artery calcium (CAC) scanning is a reliable, noninvasive technique for estimating overall coronary plaque burden and for identifying risk for future cardiac events. Arthur Agatston and Warren Janowitz published the first technique for scoring CAC scans in 1990. Given the lack of available data correlating CAC with burden of coronary atherosclerosis at that time, their scoring algorithm was remarkable, but somewhat arbitrary. Since then, a few other scoring techniques have been proposed for the measurement of CAC including the Volume score and Mass score. Yet despite new data, little in this field has changed in the last 15 years. The main focus of our paper is to review the implications of the current approach to scoring CAC scans in terms of correlation with the central disease - coronary atherosclerosis. We first discuss the methodology of each available scoring system, describing how each of these scores make important indirect assumptions in the way they account (or do not account) for calcium density, location of calcium, spatial distribution of calcium, and microcalcification/emerging calcium that might limit their predictive power. These assumptions require further study in well-designed, large event-driven studies. In general, all of these scores are adequate and are highly correlated with each other. Despite its age, the Agatston score remains the most extensively studied and widely accepted technique in both the clinical and research settings. After discussing CAC scoring in the era of contrast enhanced coronary CT angiography, we discuss suggested potential modifications to current CAC scanning protocols with respect to tube voltage, tube current, and slice thickness which may further improve the value of CAC scoring. We close with a focused discussion of the most important future directions in the field of CAC scoring.

A new coronary artery disease grading system correlates with numerous routine parameters that were associated with atherosclerosis: a grading system for coronary artery disease severity

Background

Several scoring systems have tried to determine the severity of coronary artery disease (CAD) to investigate the connection between CAD severity and laboratory parameters.

Methods

In total, 189 male (mean age: 61.86±10.77 years) and 75 female CAD patients (mean age: 67.84±7.70 years) were recruited and underwent angiography, which determined stenosis grade, of 17 coronary segments: no points for each nonstenosed segment or only calcified segments, one point for each stenosis from <30% to <50%, two points for each stenosis from 50% to <70%, and three points for each stenosis >70%. The points were added and should represent the severity of patients’ CAD.

Results

The coronary score correlated positively with systolic blood pressure, creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, lipase, glucose, glycated hemoglobin, triglycerides, C-reactive protein, fibrinogen Clauss, and leukocytes, and correlated negatively with Cl⁻, iron, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Stepwise multiple regression analysis with backward elimination revealed diabetes status, sex, and fibrinogen Clauss as significant predictors of coronary score.

Conclusion

The coronary score delivers a quite simple but very precise tool for the quantification of CAD severity. These results show plainly the connection between CAD severity and the lipid, glucose, coagulation, and immunologic status of CAD patients, and substantiate the importance of sufficient treatment in this group of patients – in particular, CAD patients suffering from type 2 diabetes mellitus. The coronary score would offer a suitable tool for the investigation of the connection between CAD and new biomarkers. Further studies are needed to investigate the correlation of the coronary score with outcome parameters (eg, death).

Can nontriggered thoracic CT be used for coronary artery calcium scoring? A phantom study

PURPOSE

Coronary artery calcium score, traditionally based on electrocardiography (ECG)-triggered computed tomography (CT), predicts cardiovascular risk. However, nontriggered CT is extensively utilized. The study-purpose is to evaluate the in vitro agreement in coronary calcium score between nontriggered thoracic CT and ECG-triggered cardiac CT.

METHODS

Three artificial coronary arteries containing calcifications of different densities (high, medium, and low), and sizes (large, medium, and small), were studied in a moving cardiac phantom. Two 64-detector CT systems were used. The phantom moved at 0-90 mm∕s in nontriggered low-dose CT as index test, and at 0-30 mm∕s in ECG-triggered CT as reference. Differences in calcium scores between nontriggered and ECG-triggered CT were analyzed by t-test and 95% confidence interval. The sensitivity to detect calcification was calculated as the percentage of positive calcium scores.

RESULTS

Overall, calcium scores in nontriggered CT were not significantly different to those in ECG-triggered CT (p>0.05). Calcium scores in nontriggered CT were within the 95% confidence interval of calcium scores in ECG-triggered CT, except predominantly at higher velocities (≥50 mm∕s) for the high-density and large-size calcifications. The sensitivity for a nonzero calcium score was 100% for large calcifications, but 46%±11% for small calcifications in nontriggered CT.

CONCLUSIONS

When performing multiple measurements, good agreement in positive calcium scores is found between nontriggered thoracic and ECG-triggered cardiac CT. Agreement decreases with increasing coronary velocity. From this phantom study, it can be concluded that a high calcium score can be detected by nontriggered CT, and thus, that nontriggered CT likely can identify individuals at high risk of cardiovascular disease. On the other hand, a zero calcium score in nontriggered CT does not reliably exclude coronary calcification.

Coronary Calcium Scanning in Patients after Adjuvant Radiation for Early Breast Cancer and Ductal Carcinoma In situ

Background and Objective: Radiation therapy (RT) is part of standard adjuvant treatment for breast cancer. Earlier studies demonstrated increased cardiac morbidity and mortality from this. Coronary Calcium scanning utilizing Multidetector Computed Tomography (MDCT) can detect early atherosclerosis in coronary arteries by identifying the amount of calcifications. In our study we employed these tools to detect occult atherosclerosis at least 5 years following breast RT.

Methods: We evaluated 20 asymptomatic patients, <60 years old, treated with RT at least 5 years prior to enrollment. Nine received RT to the left and 11 to the right chest wall. The median interval between RT and calcium scan was 8 years. All patients were treated with external beam RT using tangential technique. All patients underwent MDCT to compute volumetric and Agatston calcium scores of the coronary arteries and the aorta.

Results: Eleven patients had RT to the right chest wall, and eight had a calcium score of 0, while two had minimally elevated scores and one patient had a significantly elevated score. Meanwhile nine patients had RT to the left chest wall, and seven had a calcium score of 0. None had significantly elevated scores. In the aorta, 11 of 20 patients had a score of 0, while 8 of 20 had minimally elevated scores.

Conclusion: In contrast to studies demonstrating increased cardiovascular morbidity, our pilot study did not detect significant occult atherosclerosis using MDCT of the coronaries and aorta of patients assessed five or more years following radiation for treatment of breast cancer.

Vessel specific coronary artery calcium scoring: an automatic system

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to automatically detect and quantify calcium lesions for the whole heart as well as per coronary artery on non-contrast-enhanced cardiac computed tomographic images.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Imaging data from 366 patients were randomly selected from patients who underwent computed tomographic calcium scoring assessments between July 2004 and May 2009 at Erasmum MC, Rotterdam. These data included data sets with 1.5-mm and 3.0-mm slice spacing reconstructions and were acquired using four different scanners. The scores of manual observers, who annotated the data using commercially available software, served as ground truth. An automatic method for detecting and quantifying calcifications for each of the four main coronary arteries and the whole heart was trained on 209 data sets and tested on 157 data sets. Statistical testing included determining Pearson's correlation coefficients and Bland-Altman analysis to compare performance between the system and ground truth. Wilcoxon's signed-rank test was used to compare the interobserver variability to the system's performance.

RESULTS

Automatic detection of calcified objects was achieved with sensitivity of 81.2% per calcified object in the 1.5-mm data set and sensitivity of 86.6% per calcified object in the 3.0-mm data set. The system made an average of 2.5 errors per patient in the 1.5-mm data set and 2.2 errors in the 3.0-mm data set. Pearson's correlation coefficients of 0.97 (P < .001) for both 1.5-mm and 3.0-mm scans with respect to the calcium volume score of the whole heart were found. The average R values over Agatston, mass, and volume scores for each of the arteries (left circumflex coronary artery, right coronary artery, and left main and left anterior descending coronary arteries) were 0.93, 0.96, and 0.99, respectively, for the 1.5-mm scans. Similarly, for 3.0-mm scans, R values were 0.94, 0.94, and 0.99, respectively. Risk category assignment was correct in 95% and 89% of the data sets in the 1.5-mm and 3-mm scans.

CONCLUSIONS

An automatic vessel-specific coronary artery calcium scoring system was developed, and its feasibility for calcium scoring in individual vessels and risk category classification has been demonstrated.