title: Association of coronary artery calcium with severity of myocardial ischemia in left anterior descending, left circumflex, and right coronary artery territories.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  An increasing coronary artery calcium score is associated with a higher likelihood of myocardial ischemia.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The association of the coronary calcium score with myocardial ischemia in different coronary arteries needed to be investigated.
  
  
  METHODS
  We correlated the coronary artery calcium (CAC) score with the severity of myocardial ischemia diagnosed by myocardial perfusion imaging in the left anterior descending (LAD), left circumflex (LCX), and right coronary artery (RCA) territories in 206 patients, mean age 66 years, without cardiac stents or coronary artery surgery.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean CAC score in the LAD coronary artery was 160 ± 218 in patients with no or mild ischemia and 336 ± 379 in patients with moderate or severe ischemia (P = 0.039). The mean CAC score in the LCX coronary artery was 57 ± 117 in patients with no or mild ischemia and 161 ± 191 in patients with moderate or severe ischemia (P = 0.018). The mean CAC score in the RCA was 114 ± 237 in patients with no or mild ischemia and 261 ± 321 in patients with moderate or severe ischemia (P = 0.045). Stepwise linear regression analysis showed that male gender (P < 0.0001), age (P < 0.0001), and moderate or severe ischemia (P = 0.023) were significantly associated with high LAD coronary artery CAC scores. Male gender (P < 0.0001), age (P = 0.0002), and moderate or severe ischemia (P = 0.006) were significantly associated with high LCX coronary artery CAC scores. Male gender (P < 0.0001) and age (P < 0.0001) were significantly associated with high RCA CAC scores.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Higher CAC scores are significantly associated with moderate or severe ischemia in the LAD and LCX coronary arteries.
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Division, Department of Medicine, New York Medical College, Valhalla, USA. hoanglai@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Hoang M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: Dvorah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Holtzman
authors.forename: Wilbert S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Aronow
authors.forename: Albert J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: DeLuca
authors.forename: Chul
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.forename: Svetlana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Matayev
authors.forename: Robert N
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Belkin
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002114:Calcinosis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002118:Calcium / Q000032:analysis*; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017202:Myocardial Ischemia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D055414:Myocardial Perfusion Imaging; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D002118:Calcium
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