CT-based abdominal aortic calcification score as a surrogate marker for predicting the presence of asymptomatic coronary artery disease.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the value of a CT-based abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) score as a surrogate marker for the presence of asymptomatic coronary artery disease (CAD).
METHODS: The AAC scores of 373 patients without cardiac symptoms who underwent both screening coronary CT angiography and abdominal CT within one year were calculated according to the Agatston method. Logistic regression was used to derive two multivariate models from traditional cardiovascular risk factors, with and without AAC scores, to predict the presence of CAD. The AAC score and the two multivariate models were compared by calculating the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and the net reclassification improvement (NRI).
RESULTS: The AAC score alone showed a marginally higher AUC (0.823 vs. 0.767, P = 0.061) and significantly better risk classification (NRI = 0.158, P = 0.048) than the multivariate model without AAC. The multivariate model using traditional factors and AAC did not show a significantly higher AUC (0.832 vs. 0.823, P = 0.616) or NRI (0.073, P = 0.13) than the AAC score alone. The optimal cutoff value of the AAC score for predicting CAD was 1025.8 (sensitivity, 79.5 %; specificity, 75.9 %).
CONCLUSIONS: AAC scores may serve as a surrogate marker for the presence or absence of asymptomatic CAD. KEY POINTS: • Severe vascular calcification indicates a high probability of coronary artery disease. • Vascular calcification in the abdominal aorta can be quantified by computed tomography. • Abdominal CT could lead to early detection of asymptomatic coronary artery disease.