Angiographic studies have demonstrated that progression of coronary artery disease can be slowed and in some cases regression obtained with appropriate medical therapies. However, coronary angiography is invasive and expensive. Detection of coronary artery calcification, a marker of atherosclerotic disease, with electron beam tomography imaging is achieved non-invasively and at a much lower cost. Therefore, this technology provides an opportunity to serially monitor the clinical effectiveness of medical therapy for coronary artery disease and could be useful for development of new therapies for atherosclerosis.
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There is a closer relationship between extent of coronary artery calcification and atherosclerotic plaque burden than between luminal stenosis and the latter. This phenomenon is probably due to vascular remodeling and implies that electron beam tomography is a better tool to assess the true extent of coronary arterial disease.
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In this article the authors introduce for the first time a quantification tool to assess the extent of coronary artery calcium. This score has been used extensively and several publications have demonstrated its close relationship with the extent of coronary artery plaque burden.
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This manuscript describes a new and improved method for the quantification of coronary artery calcific deposits, based on a volumetric method. The new method is significantly more reproducible and reliable than the traditional method and should be applied to the sequential analysis of plaque progression.
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Dietary supplements inclusive of several vitamins, minerals and amino acids are shown to slow the progression of coronary artery calcification, measured by means of the traditional scoring method.
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CallisterTQRaggiPLippolisNJRussoDJ.How should we use coronary artery calcium scores to predict events? [abstract]. J Am Coll Cardiol1999; 33: 414A.
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RaggiPCallisterTQCooilBHeZ-XRussoDJLippolisNJ. Identification of patients at increased risk of first unheralded acute myocardial infarction by electron beam computed tomography. Circulation2000; 101: 850–855.
