Calcium in breast blood vessels a new marker of heart disease!

Calcium in breast blood vessels a new marker of heart disease!

Coronary artery calcification noted on computed tomographic (CT) evaluation is a well known marker of coronary artery disease. Coronary arteries are blood vessels supplying oxygenated blood to the heart. A study published in a leading medical journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging evaluated the relation between breast arterial calcification noted on routine mammography and diseases of heart and blood vessels. Breast arteries are blood vessels supplying oxygenated blood to the breast. Mammography is an X-ray imaging test used routinely to screen for breast cancer in women after menopause. The study had over 5000 women between 60 to 79 years of age. They were recruited after mammography screening during 2012 – 2015 period.

Breast arterial calcification was determined using digital mammograms. Presence or absence of calcium deposits and the quantity in milligrams if present were noted. Just over a quarter of the women had breast arterial calcification in the study. After a mean follow up period of 6.5 years, 3% had heart and blood vessel disease events like heart attack and stroke. After adjusting for traditional risk factors for heart and blood vessel disease, a risk of over 1.5 times was noted in the study in those with calcium deposits in blood vessels of the breast.

An accompanying editorial pointed out that this was a special group of persons with more than a quarter of them having a graduate or professional degree. Compared to the national average of around 50% of corresponding women on cholesterol lowering medications, 75% of those with breast arterial calcification were already on medications to lower cholesterol. This would suggest that this was a well-treated population of insured persons from the MINERVA study. The question now is whether breast arterial calcification should be included in the screening guidelines for heart and blood vessel disease.