Association of breast arterial calcification and carotid intima-media thickness

Abstract

Breast arterial calcification (BAC) on mammography has been identified as calcific medial sclerosis of medium-sized breast arteries, and has been reported to be associated with cardiovascular risk factors, coronary artery disease, and cardiovascular mortality. Carotid intima-media thickness (C-IMT) is a well-known surrogate marker of atherosclerosis and predictor of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Consequently, the present study was designed to investigate the association between the presence of BAC on mammography and C-IMT. Twenty-five postmenopausal cases with BAC and 29 subjects without BAC on mammography were included in the study. Cardiovascular risk factors, number of childbirths, postmenopausal duration, and age at menopause were all noted besides detailed physical and laboratory examination. In the whole study population C-IMT was measured with B-mode ultrasound. The women with BAC had significantly increased number of childbirths, postmenopausal duration, frequency of diabetes mellitus, systolic blood pressure, fasting glucose, and CIMT (0.87 +/- 0.17 mm versus 0.60 +/- 0.19 mm) in comparison with the women without BAC (P < 0.05 for all). The C-IMT was correlated with age, number of childbirths, postmenopausal duration, presence of BAC, and serum triglyceride level (P < 0.05 for all). Independent predictors of C-IMT were the presence of BAC on mammography (beta = 0.463, P < 0.001) and serum triglyceride level (beta = 0.222, P = 0.042), whereas the only independent predictor of BAC was CIMT (chi(2) = 23.41, beta = 7.56, P = 0.004). Findings of the present study suggest that the BAC on mammography is independently associated with C-IMT. Screening mammographies merit to be evaluated for the presence of BAC, which might benefit cardiovascular preventive medicine in women by predicting atherosclerosis.

Mammographically Detectable Breast Arterial Calcification and Atherosclerosis

“…This study showed an association between carotid plaque and BAC, although the association between BAC and IMT was stronger. Yildiz et al 29 conducted a similar study and reported mean CIMT of 0.87 ± 0.17 in BAC-positive women compared with 0.60 ± 0.19 in BAC-negative women with a coefficient of 0.463 ( P < 0.001). However, Sarrafzadegann et al, 16 who included only premenopausal women referred for coronary angiography, failed to show any statistically significant relation.…”

“…The study period ranged from 1995 to 2011, and the studies looked at relation between BAC and CVD, cardiovascular (CV) mortality, coronary, cerebral or systemic atherosclerosis, CIMT, and coronary calcium. We found 19 studies 7–25 looking at the association of BAC and CAD and/or CVD, 8 studies between BAC and stroke, 7–9,20,21,23,24,26 2 studies between BAC and PAD, 27,28 3 studies between BAC and CIMT, 16,19,29 and 2 studies between BAC and coronary artery calcification (CAC). 30,31 Tables 1 and 2 show detailed information regarding individual studies.…”

“…There were 2 studies showing the association between BAC and PAD, 27,28 3 between BAC and CIMT, 16,19,29 and 2 between BAC and CAC. 30,31 Table 2 shows description of the studies along with their ORs and 95% CIs.…”

No Association Between Left-Breast Radiation Therapy or Breast Arterial Calcification and Long-Term Cardiac Events in Patients with Breast Cancer

“…8 Although BAC is typically considered a benign finding unrelated to breast cancer risk/mortality, previous studies have suggested that BAC on screening mammography is associated with the presence of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, angiographically defined coronary artery disease, and increased cardiovascular mortality. 9 Potentially, BAC calcification on screening mammography may identify breast cancer patients at higher cardiovascular risk following breast RT for which more aggressive cardiac sparing and aggressive cardiac risk reduction may be warranted. 10 Thus, we aimed to evaluate the impact of more modern breast RT on late cardiac events and further hypothesize that BAC on screening mammography may predict for patients at higher risk for cardiovascular events following breast RT.…”

Evaluating the Association between Breast Arterial Calcification and Carotid Plaque Formation

“…Intimal changes may reflect cardiovascular and neurovascular diseases. While a number of studies analyzed the correlation between cardiovascular disease and BAC, studies on the association of BAC and carotid plaque are very rare (7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16).…”