Epidemiologic guidance with coronary artery calcium scoring.
The importance of screening for subclinical coronary artery disease is reinforced by the detection gap existing between the currently used risk stratification tools and the persistently elevated rates of cardiovascular disease in Western countries. Medicare data clearly indicate the extremely high cost of caring for patients with end-stage diseases, and early detection may curb some of these expenses. Coronary artery calcium screening has become a widely used tool to estimate risk in a variety of categories in the general population and is discussed in this review.
Raggi
Paolo
P
Division of Cardiology, Emory University School of Medicine, 1365 Clifton Road NE, AT-504, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA. praggi@excite.edu
Shaw
Leslee J
LJ
D002114:Calcinosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000473:pathology*; D005080:Exercise Test; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening; D018570:Risk Assessment; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology