Distribution of coronary artery calcium scores determined by ultrafast computed tomography in 2.253 asymptomatic white men.

OBJECTIVE To describe the distribution of coronary artery calcium scores in a population of asymptomatic white Brazilian men undergoing assessment with ultrafast computed tomography. METHODS The study assessed 2.253 men aged 22 to 88 years undergoing computed tomography in an Imatron C150 device for detecting coronary calcium. Data were divided based on the patient's age into 7 groups: < 40 years, 40-44 years, 45-49 years, 50-54 years, 55-59 years, 60-64 years, and > 65 years. RESULTS The mean and standard deviation of age were 50.0 +/- 9.7 years. In 48.8% of the cases, the coronary artery calcium score was > zero, with a non-Gaussian distribution and a large variation for the same age group. A direct correlation between age and the coronary artery calcium score was observed (r = 0.4, P < 0.01). Except for the comparison of individuals in the age groups 60-64 years, below 55-60 years, and above 65 years, the older the age group, the greater the medians of the coronary artery calcium scores (P < 0.0001). Coronary artery calcium scores were reported according to the 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles for the age groups. CONCLUSION This study, the first to report the distribution of the coronary artery calcium scores in a sample of white Brazilian men, may be useful for stratifying the risk of coronary events.