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. 2017 Mar 30;6(4):e005093.
doi: 10.1161/JAHA.116.005093.

Aortic Calcification Onset and Progression: Association With the Development of Coronary Atherosclerosis

Hagen Kälsch  1 , Nils Lehmann  2 , Susanne Moebus  2 , Barbara Hoffmann  3 , Andreas Stang  2 , Karl-Heinz Jöckel  2 , Raimund Erbel  2 , Amir A Mahabadi  4
Affiliations

Aortic Calcification Onset and Progression: Association With the Development of Coronary Atherosclerosis

Hagen Kälsch et al. J Am Heart Assoc. .

Abstract

Background: Thoracic aortic calcification (TAC) and coronary artery calcification (CAC) are markers of subclinical atherosclerosis and are associated with incident major cardiovascular events. We investigated major determinants for incidence and progression of TAC and the association between TAC and CAC incidence and progression.

Methods and results: In a population-based cohort study, 3270 participants (aged 45-74 years, 53.1% women) received cardiac computed tomography at baseline and after a mean follow-up of 5.1±0.3 years for quantification of calcification of the ascending (ATAC) and descending thoracic aorta (DTAC) and CAC. Multivariable relative risk regression analysis was used to investigate associations of cardiovascular risk factors with incident TAC, of baseline TAC with incident CAC, and of baseline CAC with incident TAC. Of 1243 participants with baseline TAC of 0, 517 (41.6%) revealed incident TAC after 5 years. Incidence of descending TAC was higher (34.5%) than ascending TAC (23.3%). Incident TAC after 5 years was associated with age (relative risk 1.26 [95% CI 1.21-1.33], per 5 years), blood pressure (relative risk 1.06 [95% CI 1.03-1.10], per 10 mm Hg), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (relative risk 1.08 [95% CI 1.04-1.12], per 20 mg/dL), and smoking (relative risk 1.28 [95% CI 1.07-1.53]). Among the 1185 participants without CAC at baseline, the risk of developing CAC was 28.3% when baseline TAC was present compared with 22.2% among those without baseline TAC (excess risk 6.1% [95% CI 1.2-11.0%]). The point estimate of excess risk for incident CAC was higher for ascending TAC (10.8% [95% CI 4.8-16.7%]) and low for descending TAC (1.8% [95% CI -3.2% to 6.7%]). Excess risk for developing ascending and descending TAC with present baseline CAC was 16.4% (95% CI 12.7-20.0%) and 15.6% (95% CI 10.8-20.4%), respectively.

Conclusion: TAC and CAC share similar major determinants for incident calcification. Participants with TAC, especially ascending TAC, are at elevated risk for development of CAC.

Keywords: aortic disease; calcification; cardiac CT; computed tomography; coronary artery calcification; thoracic aortic calcification.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Observed and fitted 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles (P50, P75, and P90, respectively) of thoracic aortic calcification (TAC) distribution for (A) overall TAC, (B) ascending (asc.) TAC and (C) descending (desc.) TAC by age categories in men and women. Dark colors show baseline values when participant age was between 45 and 74 years, and light colors show 5‐year follow‐up data.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Five‐year progression of calcification with relations between vascular beds. Lengths of arrows indicate excess risk of 5‐year onset in the artery where the arrow points and contrasting presence and absence of baseline calcification where the arrow originates, IQR indicates interquartile range.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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