CardioExchange Archive

Zero Calcium: What is the “warranty period” for a zero calcium score? Min et al. studied 422 people who had a normal calcium scan (CAC=0) and who then received annual screens. One quarter of the patients had a subsequent calcium score >0 within 5 years, according to the report in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, but the rate of conversion to abnormal was “nonlinear: extremely low in the first 2 years of serial scanning and accelerating substantially in year 4 to 5.”

In an accompanying editorial comment, Harvey Hecht writes that the study “paves the way for a fresh approach to a large segment of the primary prevention population” that will help prevent “overtreatment” in patients with zero calcium scores.