title: Relationship between carotid artery calcification detected in dental panoramic images and hypertension and myocardial infarction.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Carotid artery calcification may be related to cerebrovascular accident, which may result in death or physical and mental disabilities in survivors.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Our purpose is to study the association of carotid artery calcification (CAC) on dental panoramic radiographs and two risk factors of cerebrovascular accident (CVA) including hypertension and myocardial infarction (MI).
  
  
  METHODS
  Panoramic images of 200 patients that were all women above 50 years of age (a population suffering from vascular diseases) were investigated. All panoramic images were provided under similar conditions in terms of the type of panoramic radiograph equipment, type of applied films and the automatic film processor. Then, the patients answered questions about MI history and taking antihypertensive drugs. We also measured the blood pressure of patients in two separate surveys. Data analysis was performed by SPSS statistical program. We used Exact Fisher test and Chi-Square test at a significant level of less than 0.05 to study the effect of these variables on the occurrence of carotid artery calcification.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among 200 studied samples, 22 of the patients (11%) had carotid artery calcification on the dental panoramic radiograph. In total, 52 patients (26%) had hypertension and four people (2%) had a history of MI. Eleven individuals among patients suffering from hypertension (21.2%) and three individuals among patients with a history of MI (75%) demonstrated CAC on dental panoramic images .
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The relationship between CAC found on dental panoramic radiographs and two CVA risk factors--hypertension and MI-- was significant. Therefore, it seems that detection of CAC on panoramic images of dental patients must be considered by dentists.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Faculty of Dentistry, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mahkameh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moshfeghi
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Faculty of Dentistry, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Jamileh Beigom
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Taheri
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Faculty of Dentistry, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Nika
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bahemmat
authors.affiliation: Dentist, Private practice, Karaj, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Ebrahim
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Evazzadeh
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Faculty of Dentistry, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Hoora
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hadian
keywords: Carotid Artery; Panoramic Radiography; Stroke