title: Lack of correlation between coronary artery calcium and myocardial perfusion imaging.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Coronary artery calcium (CAC) provides evidence of coronary atherosclerosis and has significant prognostic power. Although prior studies have documented a relationship between CAC and hemodynamically significant coronary artery stenosis, the results have not been conclusive.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We evaluated 126 consecutive patients who underwent electron beam computed tomography CAC scoring by use of the Agatston method and stress myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) within 3 months of each other. The analysis revealed no correlation between absolute CAC score and age- and gender-adjusted CAC scores with MPI. Overall, 18% of patients had abnormal MPI results irrespective of their CAC.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CAC scoring and stress MPI should be thus considered complementary approaches rather than exclusionary in the evaluation of the patient at risk for coronary artery disease.
authors.affiliation: Beth Israel Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY, USA. jrosman@chpnet.org
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rosman
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shapiro
authors.forename: Anuragini
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pandey
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: VanTosh
authors.forename: Steven R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Bergmann
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009206:Myocardium / Q000473:pathology; D010477:Perfusion; D011379:Prognosis; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon / Q000379:methods*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D002118:Calcium