Vascular calcification on plain radiographs is related with the severity of lesions detected by coronary angiography in dialysis patients.
Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a primary cause of mortality and morbidity in dialysis patients. However, it is difficult to select the proper point for coronary angiographic procedure, because dialysis patients frequently do not display typical symptoms. Vascular calcification (VC) scores of artery or aorta on plain radiographs are associated with CAD events and may be predictive of CAD in dialysis patients. Therefore, we evaluated whether high or meaningful VC scores on plain radiographs are related with the severity of lesions detected by coronary angiography (CAG) in dialysis patients. We retrospectively enrolled dialysis patients who underwent CAG and checked several plain radiographs within one year before or after CAG. Significant VC is defined as high or meaningful VC scores, such as long abdominal aortic calcification and medial artery calcification on feet. Of all 55 patients, 41 patients (74.5%) exhibited significant VC on plain radiographs and 23 patients (41.8%) underwent stent insertion. Among the 23 patients, longer stents were used in 18 patients with significant VC (34.1 ± 19.5 mm vs. 16.6 ± 15.2 mm, P = 0.029). Patients with significant VC showed higher prevalence rate of severe coronary artery calcification (P = 0.007) and diffuse/tubular stenosis (P = 0.012), detected by CAG, than those without significant VC. Thus, high or meaningful VC scores on plain radiographs were associated with the degree of calcification or stenosis detected by CAG. In conclusion, VC scores on plain radiographs may be predictive of calcification or stenosis of coronary artery before CAG in dialysis patients.
Department of Internal Medicine, Dong-A University, Busan, Korea.
Hwa Seong
HS
Nam
Su Mi
SM
Lee
Eu Gene
EG
Jeong
Dong Yeol
DY
Lee
Young Ki
YK
Son
Seong Eun
SE
Kim
Seuk-Hee
SH
Chung
Young-Rak
YR
Cho
Jong-Sung
JS
Park
Sung Wook
SW
Lee
Myung Hwan
MH
Noh
Won Suk
WS
An
D001012:Aorta, Abdominal / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D003251:Constriction, Pathologic; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D006435:Renal Dialysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D061205:Vascular Calcification / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology*