Coronary calcium detected by digital cinefluoroscopy and coronary artery disease in patients undergoing coronary arteriography: effects of age and sex

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery calcium, detected non-invasively, correlates well with angiographically documented coronary artery disease (CAD). This study was conducted to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of coronary artery calcium detected by digital cinefluoroscopy for CAD and assess the effects of age and sex on it. METHODS: In 242 patients who underwent coronary angiography, coronary calcium status was determined and related to angiographic findings. RESULTS: Calcium detection had a sensitivity 85%, specificity 52%, positive predictive value 92%, negative predictive value 33% and diagnostic accuracy 81% for significant CAD. There was a better positive predictive value in men (95% vs. 80%) and negative predictive value in women (65% vs. 16%), while a higher sensitivity and diagnostic accuracy was found in older than in younger (90% and 86% vs. 78% and 74%). The sensitivity of the method increased with the number of the diseased vessels. CONCLUSIONS: Coronary calcium can be quite accurately detected by digital cinefluoroscopy. This, however, should be made in the context of sex and age.