1. The association between carotid calcium on dental panoramic radiographs and coronary calcium score on chest computerized tomography
- Author
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Erez Kachel, Dalit Porat Ben Amy, Shemy Carasso, Wadi Kinany, Fabio Kusniec, Diab Ghanim, Mariana Issawy, Imad Abu El-Naaj, Offer Amir, Doron Sudarsky, Gabby Elbaz-Greener, and Chen Shmuel
- Subjects
medicine.medical_specialty ,Dental panoramic ,business.industry ,Radiography ,Carotid arteries ,chemistry.chemical_element ,General Medicine ,030204 cardiovascular system & hematology ,Calcium ,030218 nuclear medicine & medical imaging ,Coronary Calcium Score ,03 medical and health sciences ,Coronary artery calcium ,0302 clinical medicine ,Otorhinolaryngology ,chemistry ,Medicine ,Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and imaging ,Tomography ,Radiology ,business ,General Dentistry - Abstract
Objectives: Coronary artery calcium measured by CT predicts future coronary events. Similarly, carotid artery calcium on dental panoramic radiographs has been associated with increased cardiovascular events. Pre-procedural assessment of candidates for valve replacement in our institution includes panoramic radiographs and chest tomography. We aimed to assess the association of carotid calcium on panoramic radiographs with coronary artery calcium on chest tomography. Methods: Paired pre-procedural panoramic radiographs and chest tomography scans were done in 177 consecutive patients between October 2016 and October 2017. Carotid calcium was quantified using NIH’s ImageJ. Coronary artery calcium was quantified by the Agatston score using Philips Intellispace portal, v. 8.0.1.20640. Results: Carotid calcium maximal intensity, area and perimeter were higher among patients with high coronary artery calcium. Non-zero carotid calcium was found in half of patients with high coronary artery calcium, doubling prevalence of low coronary artery calcium. Conclusion: Carotid calcium identified in panoramic radiographs was associated with high coronary artery calcium. Awareness of carotid calcium recognized by dental practitioners in low-cost, low radiation and commonly done panoramic radiographs may be useful to identify patients at risk of coronary disease with potential future cardiovascular events.
- Published
- 2021
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