New data suggest that CT scans to detect calcium in coronary arteries help predict heart disease risk in relatively young and healthy men.
In a study reported by the American College of Cardiology, men with calcium deposits were 11 times more likely to develop heart disease in the next three years than those with negative scans--even though they had normal blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
Calcium "scores" could help physicians better identify those patients at high risk and in need of aggressive treatment to prevent heart attacks and other heart-related problems, explained lead researcher Dr. Allen Taylor at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
The researchers studied nearly 2,000 Army personnel, primarily Caucasian men 40 to 50 years old, who were undergoing routine physical examinations.
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