Coronary artery calcification detected with ultrafast CT as an indication of coronary artery disease.

To assess the relationship of coronary artery calcification to angiographically detectable disease, the authors evaluated 100 patients less than 60 years of age who underwent clinically indicated coronary angiography and ultrafast computed tomography (CT). The ultrafast CT technique consisted of 3-mm-thick contiguous sections and a 100-msec acquisition time. All patients with clinically significant disease at angiography (defined as at least one stenosis with a diameter narrowing of at least 50%) had some coronary artery calcification present at ultrafast CT (100% sensitivity in this population). The absence of calcification at ultrafast CT had a 100% negative predictive value for clinically significant coronary artery disease. Specificity and positive predictive value were 47% and 62%, respectively. Sensitivity and specificity of ultrafast CT in the detection of patients with angiographically detectable disease were 94% and 72%, respectively. Ultrafast CT of the heart is an anatomically based, noninvasive test with high sensitivity for the detection of coronary artery calcification. Ultrafast CT may be beneficial in the screening of selected populations for the presence of atherosclerotic coronary disease.