Coronary Calcifications and Heart Events in Diabetic Patients
Author Information
Author(s): Becker Alexander, Leber Alexander W, Becker Christoph, Ziegler Franz, Tittus Janine, Schroeder Ines, Steinbeck Gerhard, Knez Andreas
Primary Institution: Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany
Hypothesis
Can coronary calcifications predict future cardiovascular events in asymptomatic patients with diabetes mellitus?
Conclusion
Coronary calcifications can help identify patients at risk for future heart attacks and cardiac death among asymptomatic diabetics.
Supporting Evidence
- Patients with an Agatston score above 400 had a significantly higher annualized event rate for cardiovascular events.
- No cardiac events were observed in patients with exclusion of coronary calcifications.
- The Agatston score showed a higher diagnostic accuracy in predicting myocardial infarction compared to the Framingham and UKPDS scores.
Takeaway
Doctors can use a special scan to see if people with diabetes have calcium in their hearts, which helps them know if those people might have heart problems later.
Methodology
The study included 716 asymptomatic diabetic patients who underwent electron beam computed tomography to measure coronary calcifications and were followed for an average of 8.1 years.
Limitations
The study population was not unselected, as it consisted of patients referred for preventive check-ups, which may limit generalizability.
Participant Demographics
430 men and 286 women, average age 55.2 years.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.01
Confidence Interval
0.76 (0.73 – 0.82)
Statistical Significance
p<0.01
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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