Birmingham Heart Clinic, P.C.

Coronary calcium is a marker for plaque (fatty deposits) in a blood vessel or atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). The presence and amount of calcium detected in a coronary artery by the CT scan, indicates the presence and amount of atherosclerotic plaque. These calcium deposits appear years before the development of heart disease symptoms such as chest pain and shortness of breath.

A calcium score is computed for each of the coronary arteries based upon the volume and density of the calcium deposits. This can be referred to as your calcified plaque burden. It does not correspond directly to the percentage of narrowing in the artery but does correlate with the severity of the underlying coronary atherosclerosis.

This score is then used to determine the calcium percentile, which compares your calcified plaque burden to that of other asymptomatic men and women of the same age. The calcium score, in combination with the percentile, enables your physician to determine your risk of developing symptomatic coronary artery disease, and to measure the progression of disease and the effectiveness of treatment.

A score of zero indicates that there is no calcified plaque burden. This implies that there is no significant coronary artery narrowing and a very low likelihood of a cardiac event over at least the next 3 years. It does not absolutely rule out the presence of soft, non-calcified plaque or totally eliminate the possibility of a cardiac event.

A score that is greater than zero indicates at least some coronary artery disease. As the score increases, so does the likelihood of a significant coronary narrowing and the likelihood of a coronary event over the next 3 years, compared to people with lower scores. Similarly, the likelihood of a coronary event increases with increasing calcium percentiles.

Calcium Scoring Procedure

High resolution, non-contrast, limited CT images of the heart, coronary arteries, and proximal great vessels.

Coronary artery calcium scanning and three-dimensional scoring was done according to a standardized protocol. Interactive image viewing, volumetric display and analysis were performed.

Key

LMCA= left main
LAD= left anterior descending
CX= left circumflex
RCA= right coronary artery
PDA= posterior descending artery

CALCIUM PERCENTILE SCORE

Your total calcium score of is between the CACS percent low and CACS percent high percentile for patient-gender between the ages of CACS ages low and CACS ages high. This means that CACS percent low percent of people this age and gender had less calcium than was detected in this study. The following graph shows the distribution of total calcium scores for each age group by percentiles. Your calcium score, relative to other age groups, is indicated by the highlighted square in the graph.

CACS Graph

TRANSLATION OF CALCIUM SCORE

Calcium Score (2, 3)	Implication	Risk of Coronary Artery Disease
0	No identifiable plaque	Very low, generally less than 5 percent
1 - 10	Minimal identifiable plaque	Very unlikely, less than 10 percent
11 - 100	Definite, at least mild atherosclerotic plaque	Mild or minimal coronary narrowings likely
101 - 400	Definite, at least moderate atherosclerotic plaque	Mild coronary artery disease highly likely, significant narrowings possible
401 or Higher	Extensive atherosclerotic plaque	High likelihood of at least one significant coronary narrowing

Information

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Birmingham Heart Clinic, P.C., 100 Pilot Medical Drive, Suite 300, Birmingham, Alabama 35235 - Phone: (205) 856-2284 - Fax: (205) 815-4777

The information contained in this website is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment and is intended for personal education use only. You should not use the information presented here in order to make a medical diagnosis or medical treatment decision without the assistance of a physician. If you suspect you have a health problem, please visit your health care professional.