ELECTRON BEAM COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY DETECTION OF CORONARY CALCIFICATION IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE

N.V. Kolotaya, V.Ye. Sinitsin, S.K. Ternovoy, A.L. Myasnikov
Institute of Clinical Cardiology, Russian Cardiological Research and Production Association, Ministry of Public Health of the Russian Federation,
Moscow, Russia

Coronary artery disease (CAD) remains one of the major causes of death in adults. This suggests the need for introduction into clinical practice of new noninvasive modalities for the diagnosis of coronary atherosclerosis. Electron beam computed tomography (EBCT) of coronary arteries has potential for noninvasive detection of coronary calcification. The aim of the present study was to delineate a correlation between the results of EBCT and coronary angiography and to compare the total EBCT coronary calcium score in different age patient groups with and without CAD in the Russian population. EBCT was provided to 70 CAD patients and 50 patients without CAD. Coronary calcification was defined as >1.02 mm² of contiguous area of CT density >130 Hounsfield units (Hu). Calcification detected by EBCT has a 94% sensitivity in predicting CAD patients, with a specificity of 83%. The total EBCT coronary calcium score was much higher in CAD patients (482±772.8 Hu) than in patients without CAD (14.5±46 Hu, p<0.0001) and was found to increase with age. The findings obtained allow the conclusion that EBCT can be used in the diagnosis of CAD. However, further research is necessary to determine the level of normal coronary artery calcification in different age groups.

KEY WORDS: Coronary calcification, electron beam computer tomography.

P. 16-24

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