A new study presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology in Chicago (USA) suggests that the mammography could also be used to detect cardiovascular disease in women. According to Dr. Harvey Hecht, chief of cardiovascular imaging at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, the detection of micro-calcifications in the chest could indicate the presence of other small calcium deposits in the arteries, which which increases the heart risk.
For their study, published in the Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging the researchers recruited 292 women who had had mammograms and CT scans of the arteries in the past twelve months. Of these women, 42.5% had micro-calcifications on their mammogram and 70% of these also had calcium deposits appearing on the CT scan. These calcium deposits can, in time, alter the walls of the arteries and lead to the obstruction of the vessel.
By examining more particularly the youngest women (under the age of 60), the doctors noticed that 83% of those who had micro-calcifications also had calcium deposits in the arteries.
“This study shows that mammography performed as early as age 50 could provide an opportunity to identify women at cardiac risk who would not normally have undergone cardiovascular screening” points out Dr. Hecht.
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