[Calcium score in the cardiovascular evaluation of the diabetic patient]

Abstract

Coronary artery calcium (CAC) is a specific marker of atherosclerosis, independent of its etiology. Quantification of CAC by computed tomography (CT) is a non-invasive test recommended mainly for risk stratification for coronary heart disease, in addition to the conventional stratification, especially in intermediate risk patients. Currently, a diabetic patient is classified as a coronary heart disease equivalent, therefore a high-risk patient according to most societies. For that matter calcium score is not currently recommended for diabetic patients. Although quantification of CAC by computed tomography (CT) is not yet supported by strong evidence in diabetes, small studies showed evidence that this test could have a discriminatory power in terms of prognosis within this group of patients. That could be a future clinical application, depending on the validation of these data and the results of future studies. There are some other potential applications for this method that could be useful for diabetic patients as well, but haven't been extensively validated, like the assessment of progression of coronary artery calcium as a form of evaluating effectiveness of medical therapy. In this article we review the method and current indications for the quantification of CAC by computed tomography.