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Progression of coronary artery calcification in asymptomatic individuals with pre-existing calcium score.

AIM
Coronary artery calcification (CAC) has been introduced as a reliable, non-invasive marker of atherosclerosis. In this retrospective study, we investigated the progression of CAC using electron beam computed tomography.


METHODS
The study enrolled 598 individuals (521 males; mean age: 59.3±8.3 years) with initial CAC score (CACS) ≥10. The mean interscan period was 2.4±1.35 years (range: 1-7 years). The mean CACS, for the entire cohort, was 262.4±423.9 at baseline scan and 380.3±547.6 at follow-up. The mean annualized progression in CACS was 57.7±123.7; 47.4±66.5 in females and 58.3±128.1 in males (P=0.46). The mean annualized progression in CACS was 39.6±61.3 in individuals <60 years and 75.7±161.5 in individuals >60 years (P=0.0003). In multivariate analysis, only baseline CACS (P<0.0001) and smoking (P=0.002) were independently associated with the annual change in CACS.