A new study suggests routine mammograms may offer an unexpected benefit: revealing a woman’s risk of cardiovascular disease. Researchers at Penn State University have found that calcium deposits in breast arteries-frequently enough detected during mammography-are linked to a significantly higher risk of future cardiac events.Presented at teh Radiological Society of North america conference December 3, the findings highlight a potential prospect to leverage existing imaging for broader health assessments, particularly as heart disease remains the leading cause of death for women in the United States.
L’ESSENTIEL
- Routine mammograms may offer a new way to assess a woman’s risk of cardiovascular disease.
- The imaging can detect calcium deposits in breast arteries.
- Women with more calcium buildup in these arteries faced a significantly higher risk of cardiac events.
A routine mammogram could potentially reveal more than just breast cancer risk, according to a new study from Penn State University. Researchers have found that the imaging procedure can also detect calcium deposits in arteries within the breast, a marker for potential heart problems.
The study, presented December 3 at the Radiological Society of North America conference, suggests that these calcium deposits indicate stiffening of blood vessels – a key risk factor for cardiovascular disease. This finding is particularly important as heart disease remains a leading cause of death for women in the United States.
Mammograms Can Reveal Arterial Calcification
To investigate the link between calcium deposits in breast arteries and cardiovascular risk, researchers analyzed data from 10,348 women who had undergone multiple mammograms over an average period of 4.1 years. The average age of the participants was 56.
Using specialized artificial intelligence software, the team searched for calcium deposits in the breast arteries and assessed their severity. Participants were then categorized into four groups: no calcification, mild calcification, moderate calcification, and severe calcification.
The analysis revealed that women with increasing calcium accumulation in their arteries over time had a significantly elevated risk of experiencing a major cardiac event – up to twice as high compared to those with no calcification. “Women with no calcification in their breast arteries at the initial mammogram had the lowest risk of progression,” the authors stated in their news release.
Furthermore, detecting calcification during a follow-up mammogram was associated with a 41% increased risk of an adverse cardiovascular event or death over an average follow-up period of 5.6 years.
“This risk increased by 59% in women whose disease initially reached a mild stage and then progressed to a more severe stage. Finally, this risk increased by 93% in those whose disease initially reached a moderate stage and then progressed to a severe stage,” researchers indicated.
Mammography Could Improve Cardiovascular Care for Women
Researchers believe their discovery could significantly improve how heart health is managed in women. “We know that women are more likely to be diagnosed with cardiovascular disease at an advanced stage and to have a less favorable prognosis after a heart attack than men. This could be partly explained by the fact that current tools for assessing cardiovascular risk underestimate this risk in women. We need better tools,” explained Matthew Nudy of Penn State College of Medicine.
“In the future, assessing calcification of the breast arteries could help improve our ability to predict risk and prevent cardiovascular disease,” he added. The potential benefit of using mammography lies in its familiarity and acceptance among women, as it generally evokes less anxiety and fewer logistical hurdles than a CT scan.
“This could allow us to leverage data already available for other reasons and potentially use it to stratify the risk of developing cardiovascular disease in patients,” the expert concluded. This research highlights the potential for repurposing existing medical imaging to gain a more comprehensive understanding of a patient’s overall health.
