* DISCOVERY
Screening for Heart Disease
Mammograms aren’t just for cancer screening, based on a recent study that found calcification in the breasts’ arteries may be an early sign of heart disease — the number-one killer of women in the U.S. Published August 2018 in JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging, this study looked at the link between calcification in the breast and in the heart’s arteries. Coronary artery calcification (CAC) is the buildup of calcium in the heart’s arteries. Patients with CAC are at higher risk for life-threatening heart events. However, whether calcification in other parts of the body — such as the breasts — may also be a warning sign for heart disease is less clear.
To learn more, researchers designed the Bone, Breast and Coronary Artery Disease study, conducted at the Seoul National University Bundang Hospital in North Korea between 2011 and 2013. The study included 2,100 healthy, middle-aged women who underwent three exams, including mammography, a bone density scan and an imaging test to detect calcification and plaque in the heart’s arteries. After the study, researchers compared results to see if there was any link among the three tests. Overall, they found that 11 percent of the women had calcium buildup and 15 percent had plaque buildup in the heart’s main arteries — a warning sign for heart disease. When compared with other tests, researchers found that women with calcium and plaque
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buildup were roughly three times as likely to have calcification in the breasts and twice as likely to have low bone mass compared to those with normal scans.
Perhaps most importantly, researchers also found that including breast calcification in calculations helped better predict future cardiovascular risk than those that included CAC and plaque alone.
Standard predictions use risk factors such as age, race and high cholesterol to estimate an individual’s chance of developing heart disease in the next ten years. However, this study suggests that adding two noncardiac tests may help better identify women at increased risk for heart disease. According to the authors, these findings add to a growing body of evidence about the potential of mammograms and bone density scans in screening for heart disease. Past studies suggest these two tests can help identify patients at increased risk for heart disease. Authors believe that measuring bone density and calcification in the breasts’ arteries could help identify women who show no symptoms of heart disease but are at increased risk.
Researchers say the findings are promising, as these tests are already being performed on most women and require no additional radiation.
For more information on the latest heart research, visit
CardioSmart.org/News.
ISTOCK.COM
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