CAC scoring effective across multiple ethnic groups

Date:   4/21/2008 3:43:37 PM ( 16 y ago)

An article published in the New England Journal of Medicine March 2008 reports research conducted by Doctor Detrano (University of California, Irvine) and colleagues regarding the efficacy of Coronary Arterial Calcification scoring as an accurate predictor for coronary events across various ethnic groups.

CAC scoring, which typically uses EBCT (electron beam computed tomography) to measure the amount of calcium deposits or calcium plaques, has been steadily growing in popularity as a more accurate risk asessement for future cardiovascular disease than other tests such as cholesterol.

Calcified plaques are evidence for the presence of coronary artherosclerosis and are considered to indicate the risk of the patient for a future coronary event. The progression of these calcified plaques also indicates the progression of the coronary artherosclerotic disease.

In the study, 6722 men and women of various ethnic backrounds were monitored for almost 4 years. There were 162 coronary events recorded during that time, of which 89 were major events such as heart attack or death from coronary heart disease. The study reports that the risk of a coronary event was increased by a factor of 7.73 in the group of participants with CAC scores between 101-300, and by a factor of 9.67 among participants with scores above 300.

Across all the ethnic groups, it was proven that doubling of the CAC score increased the risk of major event by between 15-35% and the risk of any coronary event by 18-39%. The article summarizes with the statement that CAC score is “a strong predictor of incident coronary heart disease and provides predictive information beyond that provided by standard risk factors in four major racial and ethnic groups in the United States.” There were no detected differences among the racial and ethnic groups regarding the predictive value of CAC scores.

CAC scores are reported to typically increase annually by approximately 25%. There are few treatments that are not invasive (bypass surgery) and there have been no approved, noninvasive treatments addressing coronary artery calcification historically.

This is partly because soft tissue calcification (STC), including coronary artery calcification, is most likely caused by multiple factors. These factors CAN be addressed by select nutrition and dietary supplementation with the ingredients that are listed in my previous blogs. They include ingredients that 1) help clear calcium deposits from the soft tissues, 2) balance minerals such as magnesium and calcium, 3) work to potentiate proteins that ensure the proper utilization of calcium in the body fluids, 4) provide potent antioxidant activity to prevent endothelial wall and cellular damage and 5) help to promote healthy soft tissues to prevent the formation of calcifications.

Best health, clear health,
2yourhealth






 

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