Data from: Prevalence of coronary artery disease evaluated by coronary CT angiography in women with mammographically detected breast arterial calcifications

To assess the correlation between breast arterial calcifications (BAC) on
digital mammography and the extent of coronary artery disease (CAD)
diagnosed with dual source coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA)
in a population of women both symptomatic and asymptomatic for coronary
artery disease. 100 consecutive women (aged 34 – 86 years) who underwent
both coronary CTA and digital mammography were included in the study.
Health records were reviewed to determine the presence of cardiovascular
risk factors such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus, and
smoking. Digital mammograms were reviewed for the presence and degree of
BAC, graded in terms of severity and extent. Coronary CTAs were reviewed
for CAD, graded based on the extent of calcified and non-calcified plaque,
and the degree of major vessel stenosis. A four point grading scale was
used for both coronary CTA and mammography. The overall prevalence of
positive BAC and CAD in the studied population were 12% and 29%,
respectively. Ten of the 12 patients with moderate or advanced BAC on
mammography demonstrated moderate to severe CAD as determined by coronary
CTA. For all women, the positive predictive value of BAC for CAD was 0.83
and the negative predictive value was 0.78. The presence of BAC on
mammography appears to correlate with CAD as determined by coronary CTA
(Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient = 0.48, p<.000001). Using
logistic regression, the inclusion of BAC as a feature in CAD predication
significantly increased classification results (p=0.04).