Calcifications of the thoracic aorta on extended non-contrast-enhanced cardiac CT

Background: The presence of calcified atherosclerosis in different vascular beds has been associated with a higher risk of mortality. Thoracic aorta calcium (TAC) can be assessed from computed tomography (CT) scans, originally aimed at coronary artery calcium (CAC) assessment. CAC screening improves...

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Autores principales: Craiem, D., Chironi, G., Casciaro, M.E., Graf, S., Simon, A.
Formato: JOUR
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Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_19326203_v9_n10_p_Craiem
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spelling todo:paper_19326203_v9_n10_p_Craiem2023-10-03T16:35:39Z Calcifications of the thoracic aorta on extended non-contrast-enhanced cardiac CT Craiem, D. Chironi, G. Casciaro, M.E. Graf, S. Simon, A. calcium adult Agatston score algorithm aorta arch artery calcification Article blood vessel diameter cardiac imaging cardiovascular risk computed tomography scanner controlled study descending aorta female human major clinical study male middle aged multidetector computed tomography patient coding risk assessment thoracic aorta age aged angiocardiography aorta disease atherosclerosis calcinosis radiography risk factor sex difference thoracic aorta Adult Age Factors Aged Aorta, Thoracic Aortic Diseases Atherosclerosis Calcinosis Coronary Angiography Female Humans Male Middle Aged Risk Assessment Risk Factors Sex Factors Background: The presence of calcified atherosclerosis in different vascular beds has been associated with a higher risk of mortality. Thoracic aorta calcium (TAC) can be assessed from computed tomography (CT) scans, originally aimed at coronary artery calcium (CAC) assessment. CAC screening improves cardiovascular risk prediction, beyond standard risk assessment, whereas TAC performance remains controversial. However, the curvilinear portion of the thoracic aorta (TA), that includes the aortic arch, is systematically excluded from TAC analysis. We investigated the prevalence and spatial distribution of TAC all along the TA, to see how those segments that remain invisible in standard TA evaluation were affected. Methods and Results: A total of 970 patients (77% men) underwent extended non-contrast cardiac CT scans including the aortic arch. An automated algorithm was designed to extract the vessel centerline and to estimate the vessel diameter in perpendicular planes. Then, calcifications were quantified using the Agatston score and associated with the corresponding thoracic aorta segment. The aortic arch and the proximal descending aorta, "invisible" in routine CAC screening, appeared as two vulnerable sites concentrating 60% of almost 11000 calcifications. The aortic arch was the most affected segment per cm length. Using the extended measurement method, TAC prevalence doubled from 31% to 64%, meaning that 52% of patients would escape detection with a standard scan. In a stratified analysis for CAC and/or TAC assessment, 111 subjects (46% women) were exclusively identified with the enlarged scan. Conclusions: Calcium screening in the TA revealed that the aortic arch and the proximal descending aorta, hidden in standard TA evaluations, concentrated most of the calcifications. Middle-aged women were more prone to have calcifications in those hidden portions and became candidates for reclassification. © 2014 Craiem et al. JOUR info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ar http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_19326203_v9_n10_p_Craiem
institution Universidad de Buenos Aires
institution_str I-28
repository_str R-134
collection Biblioteca Digital - Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (UBA)
topic calcium
adult
Agatston score
algorithm
aorta arch
artery calcification
Article
blood vessel diameter
cardiac imaging
cardiovascular risk
computed tomography scanner
controlled study
descending aorta
female
human
major clinical study
male
middle aged
multidetector computed tomography
patient coding
risk assessment
thoracic aorta
age
aged
angiocardiography
aorta disease
atherosclerosis
calcinosis
radiography
risk factor
sex difference
thoracic aorta
Adult
Age Factors
Aged
Aorta, Thoracic
Aortic Diseases
Atherosclerosis
Calcinosis
Coronary Angiography
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Risk Assessment
Risk Factors
Sex Factors
spellingShingle calcium
adult
Agatston score
algorithm
aorta arch
artery calcification
Article
blood vessel diameter
cardiac imaging
cardiovascular risk
computed tomography scanner
controlled study
descending aorta
female
human
major clinical study
male
middle aged
multidetector computed tomography
patient coding
risk assessment
thoracic aorta
age
aged
angiocardiography
aorta disease
atherosclerosis
calcinosis
radiography
risk factor
sex difference
thoracic aorta
Adult
Age Factors
Aged
Aorta, Thoracic
Aortic Diseases
Atherosclerosis
Calcinosis
Coronary Angiography
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Risk Assessment
Risk Factors
Sex Factors
Craiem, D.
Chironi, G.
Casciaro, M.E.
Graf, S.
Simon, A.
Calcifications of the thoracic aorta on extended non-contrast-enhanced cardiac CT
topic_facet calcium
adult
Agatston score
algorithm
aorta arch
artery calcification
Article
blood vessel diameter
cardiac imaging
cardiovascular risk
computed tomography scanner
controlled study
descending aorta
female
human
major clinical study
male
middle aged
multidetector computed tomography
patient coding
risk assessment
thoracic aorta
age
aged
angiocardiography
aorta disease
atherosclerosis
calcinosis
radiography
risk factor
sex difference
thoracic aorta
Adult
Age Factors
Aged
Aorta, Thoracic
Aortic Diseases
Atherosclerosis
Calcinosis
Coronary Angiography
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Risk Assessment
Risk Factors
Sex Factors
description Background: The presence of calcified atherosclerosis in different vascular beds has been associated with a higher risk of mortality. Thoracic aorta calcium (TAC) can be assessed from computed tomography (CT) scans, originally aimed at coronary artery calcium (CAC) assessment. CAC screening improves cardiovascular risk prediction, beyond standard risk assessment, whereas TAC performance remains controversial. However, the curvilinear portion of the thoracic aorta (TA), that includes the aortic arch, is systematically excluded from TAC analysis. We investigated the prevalence and spatial distribution of TAC all along the TA, to see how those segments that remain invisible in standard TA evaluation were affected. Methods and Results: A total of 970 patients (77% men) underwent extended non-contrast cardiac CT scans including the aortic arch. An automated algorithm was designed to extract the vessel centerline and to estimate the vessel diameter in perpendicular planes. Then, calcifications were quantified using the Agatston score and associated with the corresponding thoracic aorta segment. The aortic arch and the proximal descending aorta, "invisible" in routine CAC screening, appeared as two vulnerable sites concentrating 60% of almost 11000 calcifications. The aortic arch was the most affected segment per cm length. Using the extended measurement method, TAC prevalence doubled from 31% to 64%, meaning that 52% of patients would escape detection with a standard scan. In a stratified analysis for CAC and/or TAC assessment, 111 subjects (46% women) were exclusively identified with the enlarged scan. Conclusions: Calcium screening in the TA revealed that the aortic arch and the proximal descending aorta, hidden in standard TA evaluations, concentrated most of the calcifications. Middle-aged women were more prone to have calcifications in those hidden portions and became candidates for reclassification. © 2014 Craiem et al.
format JOUR
author Craiem, D.
Chironi, G.
Casciaro, M.E.
Graf, S.
Simon, A.
author_facet Craiem, D.
Chironi, G.
Casciaro, M.E.
Graf, S.
Simon, A.
author_sort Craiem, D.
title Calcifications of the thoracic aorta on extended non-contrast-enhanced cardiac CT
title_short Calcifications of the thoracic aorta on extended non-contrast-enhanced cardiac CT
title_full Calcifications of the thoracic aorta on extended non-contrast-enhanced cardiac CT
title_fullStr Calcifications of the thoracic aorta on extended non-contrast-enhanced cardiac CT
title_full_unstemmed Calcifications of the thoracic aorta on extended non-contrast-enhanced cardiac CT
title_sort calcifications of the thoracic aorta on extended non-contrast-enhanced cardiac ct
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_19326203_v9_n10_p_Craiem
work_keys_str_mv AT craiemd calcificationsofthethoracicaortaonextendednoncontrastenhancedcardiacct
AT chironig calcificationsofthethoracicaortaonextendednoncontrastenhancedcardiacct
AT casciarome calcificationsofthethoracicaortaonextendednoncontrastenhancedcardiacct
AT grafs calcificationsofthethoracicaortaonextendednoncontrastenhancedcardiacct
AT simona calcificationsofthethoracicaortaonextendednoncontrastenhancedcardiacct
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