Coronary Artery Calcium and Long-Term Risk of Death, Myocardial Infarction, and Stroke

Objectives This study aimed to assess the long-term risk of death and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) outcomes, including stroke, in a real-world cohort that underwent coronary artery calcium (CAC) scoring. Background Large-scale, long-term studies assessing the independent relationship of CAC for prediction of ASCVD events, to include stroke, in young, low-risk patients are uncommon outside of the clinical trial setting. Methods A total of 23,637 consecutive subjects without ASCVD who underwent CAC scoring from 1997 to 2009 were studied. Subjects were assessed for myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) (e.g., MI, stroke, or cardiovascular death), and all-cause mortality. Outcomes were extracted from the Military Data Repository and the National Death Index and assessed using Cox proportional hazards models, controlling for baseline risk factors, atrial fibrillation, and competing mortality. Results Patients (mean age 50.0 ± 8.5 years) were followed over a median of 11.4 years. The relative adjusted subhazard ratio (aSHR) for CAC 1 to 100, 101 to 400, and >400 was 2.2, 3.8, and 5.9 for MI; 1.2, 1.4, and 1.9 for stroke; 1.4, 2.0, and 2.8 for MACE; and 1.2, 1.5 and 2.1 for death (p 0; n = 848) was associated with an increased risk of MACE (aSHR: 1.67; 95% confidence interval: 1.16 to 2.39). Conclusions CAC scoring significantly improved long-term prognostic accuracy for MACE events and mortality, irrespective of age and risk factors. These results support CAC screening for improving individual ASCVD risk assessment and prevention in low-risk, young adults.