A comparative study on coronary and aortic calcification by x-ray computed tomography

Abstract

Coronary and aortic calcification were determined by x-ray computed tomography (CT) in 166 patients with angina pectoris, old myocardial infarction, valvular heart disease, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and congenital heart disease together with 79 age-matched control subjects. The incidence of coronary calcification was significantly higher (p < 0.01) in ischemic heart disease (64 of 82 cases, 78.0%) and low for the other groups (17 of 163 cases, 10.4%). In all groups, coronary calcification occurred more often in the left anterior descending artery (LAD) than in the right coronary artery (RCA) and the left circumflex artery (LCX). The incidence of aortic calcification was also significantly higher (p < 0.01) in ischemic heart disease (68 of 82 cases, 82.9%). Calcification occurred more frequently in the aorta than in the coronary arteries. In contrast to coronary calcification, aortic calcification was detected in 31 of 79 cases (39.2%) in the control group. In elderly subjects, the incidence of coronary and aortic calcification increased. Aortic calcification was observed in all patients over 70 years of age. In conclusion, aortic calcification is commonly observed by x-ray CT in patients over middle age. Coronary calcification is more helpful than aortic calcification for identifying ischemic heart disease.