Coronary artery calcium score and risk of cardiovascular events without established coronary artery disease: a systemic review and meta-analysis

Background Coronary artery calcium (CAC) is an indicator of atherosclerosis, and the CAC score is a useful noninvasive assessment of coronary artery disease. Objective To compare the risk of cardiovascular outcomes in patients with CAC> 0 versus CAC = 0 in asymptomatic and symptomatic population in patients without an established diagnosis of coronary artery disease. Methods A systematic search of electronic databases was conducted until January 2018 for any cohort study reporting cardiovascular events in patients with CAC> 0 compared with absence of CAC. Results Forty-five studies were included with 192 080 asymptomatic 32 477 symptomatic patients. At mean follow-up of 11 years, CAC> 0 was associated with an increased risk of major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACE) compared to a CAC = 0 in asymptomatic arm [pooled risk ratio (RR) 4.05, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.91–5.63, P 0 was associated with higher MACE (RR 6.39, 95% CI 3.39–12.84, P 0 in both asymptomatic and symptomatic population without coronary artery disease.
Source: Coronary Artery Disease - Category: Cardiology Tags: Coronary Calcium Score/CTA Source Type: research