Coronary VWT is primary independent surrogate of CAD in women; age is strongest risk factor in men
TUESDAY, April 30, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Coronary vessel wall thickness (VWT) measured with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a significant surrogate of subclinical coronary artery disease (CAD) among asymptomatic women at low or intermediate risk, according to a study published online April 25 in Radiology: Cardiothoracic Imaging.
Ahmed M. Ghanem, Ph.D., from the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, and colleagues examined the correlation between coronary VWT measured at MRI and CAD risk in 131 asymptomatic adults at low and intermediate risk based on the Framingham score. Computed tomography (CT) angiography was performed for scoring CAD, and coronary VWT was measured with MRI. Sixty-two men and 62 women with a low or intermediate Framingham score of less than 20 percent were included in the analysis.
The researchers observed individual associations for age, sex, and VWT with all CT angiography-based CAD scores. Sex significantly modified the effect of the correlations with all CAD scores. Age was the only statistically significant independent risk factor for CAD in men, while in women, the only significant independent surrogate associated with increased CAD scores was VWT.
“MRI-measured VWT is noninvasive and can be performed safely, and it may provide important diagnostic and potentially prognostic information about CAD, particularly in women,” the authors write.
One author disclosed financial ties to Verily Life Sciences.
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