OBJECTIVE Increased carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT) and increased coronary artery calcium (CAC) are noninvasive surrogate indices of prevalent coronary artery disease (CAD). We compared CAC to IMT for noninvasive detection of prevalent CAD in participants whose coronary status was identified by coronary angiography. METHODS AND RESULTS Male and female CAD patients (> or =50% steno...

BACKGROUND It is uncertain whether non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) or abdominal obesity is more associated with atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to determine whether NAFLD or abdominal obesity is more strongly associated with subclinical atherosclerosis represented by coronary artery calcification (CAC). METHODS A total of 21,335 male participants in a health screening pro...

OBJECTIVE Coronary artery calcification (CAC) is associated with cardiac events and the likelihood of inducible myocardial ischemia. Because metabolic syndrome contributes to atherosclerosis, we assessed whether it also influences the relationship between CAC levels and myocardial ischemia. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We evaluated 1,043 patients without known coronary artery disease (CAD) who...

INTRODUCTION Obesity is an important cause of cardiovascular disease, especially coronary artery disease. Severely obese patients are particularly prone to this risk. The coronary artery calcium (CAC) score is a strong predictor of coronary heart disease and provides incremental information beyond traditional risk factors. We sought to determine the prevalence of abnormally high CAC scores in t...

Voltage-gated calcium channels containing alpha1 subunits encoded by Ca(v)2 family genes are critical in regulating release of neurotransmitter at chemical synapses. In Drosophila, cac is the only Ca(v)2-type gene. Cacophony (CAC) channels are localized in motor neuron terminals where they have been shown to mediate evoked, but not AP-independent, release of glutamate at the larval neuromuscula...

OBJECTIVES We sought to examine the age and gender distribution of coronary artery calcium (CAC) by diabetes status in a large cohort of asymptomatic individuals. BACKGROUND Among individuals with diabetes, coronary artery disease (CAD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Electron-beam tomography (EBT) quantifies CAC, a marker for atherosclerosis. METHODS Screening for CAC by EBT was p...

OBJECTIVES To determine the associations between depression, cardiovascular risk factors and coronary artery calcification (CAC) in women with SLE and controls. METHODS CAC was measured using electron-beam CT (EBCT). Traditional, inflammatory and lupus-related risk factors as well as depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale-CES-D) were measured at a single study ...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the association between regular coffee consumption and the prevalence of coronary artery calcium (CAC) in a large sample of young and middle-aged asymptomatic men and women. METHODS This cross-sectional study included 25 138 men and women (mean age 41.3 years) without clinically evident cardiovascular disease who underwent a health screening examination that included ...

The detection and quantification of coronary artery calcification (CAC) significantly improves cardiovascular risk prediction in asymptomatic patients. Many have advocated for expanded CAC testing in symptomatic patients based on data demonstrating that the absence of quantifiable CAC in patients with possible angina makes obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) and subsequent adverse events ...

BACKGROUND The whole-heart coronary artery calcium (CAC) score has poor predictive value for obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD). We hypothesized that vessel- and lesion-specific CAC scores are more accurate. OBJECTIVES To evaluate the usefulness of vessel- and lesion-specific CAC in predicting obstructive CAD and to assess the incremental value added by the vessel- and lesion-specific ...