Prevalence of coronary atherosclerotic plaque in patients with a low coronary artery calcium score

Introduction Patients with low coronary artery calcium (CAC) scores are deemed to be at low risk of future cardiac events. It is unclear what the prevalence of significant coronary disease is in these patients. It is also not established what cluster of traditional cardiovascular risk factors predict the presence of any coronary plaque in this group. We hypothesised patients with a calcium score of < 10 Agatston Units may have significant coronary plaque lesions that would be picked up on a more robust method for the evaluation of coronary plaques such as CT coronary angiography (CTCA).