Measurement of coronary artery calcium with dual-slice helical CT compared with coronary angiography: evaluation of CT scoring methods, interobserver variations, and reproducibility.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE.This study was performed to evaluate new scoring methods for quantitat-

The Relation of Carotid Calcium Volume with Carotid Artery Stenosis in Symptomatic Patients

“…The amount of coronary artery calcification determined by CT correlates with coronary artery stenosis of Ͼ50%. 6 There are many differences between coronary and carotid artery disease; however, similar relations have been found for the carotid arteries: Severe calcification of the carotid siphon was correlated with a Ͼ50% carotid stenosis in the study of Woodcock et al 7 In a recent study of McKinney et al, 8 a relatively strong correlation between calcium volumes at the carotid artery bifurcation and the degree of stenosis of the ICA has been demonstrated. In another study, the quantitative calcium burden of the common and extracranial ICAs was associated with luminal stenosis.…”

Assessment of Coronary Artery Calcification in Hemodialysis Patients Using Multi-Detector Spiral CT Scan

“…The differences may reflect the higher mean age of our patient population (61 vs. 49 or 57 years), or longer duration of dialysis (80 vs. 25 or 37 months). In non-dialysis patients, the magnitude of CAC has been shown to correlate with angiographically proved obstructive coronary artery disease by spiral CT (23,24). At this time, there are no published reports comparing EBCT and spiral CT with angiographic findings or prospective cardiac events in ESRD patients.…”

Correlation between carotid bifurcation calcium burden on non-enhanced CT and percentage stenosis, as confirmed by digital subtraction angiography

“…One controversy arises from the substantial measurement variability (up to 30%) of the conventional Agatson score if applied to the carotid bifurcation [37]. Another potential limitation is that helical CT is well known to be sensitive (88%) but not very specific (52%) in detecting a .50% coronary stenosis [38]. Nonetheless, recent articles in the cardiology literature strongly suggest that there is additive diagnostic value of the coronary calcium score to the coronary angiogram, presumably owing to the limitation of percent stenosis in reflecting the severity of the atherosclerotic disease process, especially during the early stages of the vessel wall changes and positive remodelling [39,40].…”