title: Cardiac calcium score on 2D echo: correlations with cardiac and coronary calcium at multi-detector computed tomography.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To test the hypothesis that a semi-quantitative echocardiographic calcium score (eCS) significantly correlates with cardiac calcium measured by coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) and, secondarily, severe coronary artery calcifications and stenosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a retrospective, observational study, conducted in a tertiary centre. eCS was compared with CCTA scores of non-coronary cardiac calcium (nCACS), coronary cardiac calcium (CACS) and number of diseased coronary vessels, in 141 subjects without known coronary artery disease (CAD), who underwent both echocardiography and CCTA for clinical reasons.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Age, prevalence of hypertension and all measures of calcium (eCS, nCACS and CACS) differed significantly between the no-CAD and CAD subgroups. eCS was positively correlated with nCACS (Spearman rho = 0.64, p < 0.0001), CACS (rho = 0.46, p < 0.01) and weakly with the number of diseased coronary vessels (rho = 0.28, p < 0.05). eCS and nCACS had similar area under the curve (AUC) for the prediction of severe CACS (≥400) (0.77, 95% CI 0.68-0.86 and 0.79, 95% CI 0.72-0.88) or obstructive CAD (0.63, 95% CI 0.54-0.72 and 0.63, 95% CI 0.55-0.73).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  eCS, a calcium score easily obtainable during standard echocardiography, is moderately to strongly correlated with nCACS by CCTA. The full eCS score correlates with nCACS better than its single components. It correlates with CACS and predicts severe coronary calcification (CACS > 400), a known predictor of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The eCS also predicts obstructive CAD, incrementally to age and clinical variables, although for this purpose CACS remains the most accurate score.
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Department, Parma University Hospital, 43123 Parma, Italy. ngaibazzi@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gaibazzi
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Baldari
authors.forename: Pompilio
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Faggiano
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Albertini
authors.forename: Giacomo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Faden
authors.forename: Filippo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pigazzani
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rossi
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Reverberi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002114:Calcinosis / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D023921:Coronary Stenosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology*; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D061330:Multidetector Computed Tomography / Q000379:methods*; D015588:Observer Variation; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013223:Statistics as Topic