Mammography reveals heart diseases

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Mammography is an X-ray examination of the breast that is designed to detect breast cancer at an early stage. However, much more can possibly be seen on the X-ray images. American researchers have now found that mammography recordings also allow a fairly reliable statement to be made about possible diseases of the heart.

In addition to very small, non-palpable tumors, doctors can also detect calcium deposits in the breast arteries on mammograms. As a side finding, so to speak, which can potentially be very useful, according to the study hypothesis of Laurie Margolies and her colleagues at the Icahn School of Medicine in Washington.

The scientists examined a total of 292 women with a mammography and also performed a computed tomography of the heart of each test subject. The calcium deposits in the thoracic arteries and the heart arteries were then each classified on a scale from 0 to 12.

70 percent hit rate

The result: In 70 percent of the cases, the researchers were able to make an accurate statement about calcification of the coronary arteries from the mammography images alone. These are the main risk factors for coronary artery disease and myocardial infarction. The prognosis worked particularly well for slightly younger women - here the researchers overestimated the cardiovascular risk due to the breast images in only 17 percent of the cases. The proportion of false positive assessments was slightly higher among older women.

Or to put it another way: around half of the younger women with coronary artery calcification could be recognized by the secondary mammography finding. They should be followed by a more comprehensive study of heart health, the scientists write in their study. For example, women could be identified who might benefit from statin therapy that lowers blood lipid levels.

Reliable indicator

Compared to the predictive power of other heart health risk factors such as high blood pressure or age, calcification of the thoracic arteries turned out to be even more reliable. Nevertheless, further - and above all larger - studies are necessary to confirm the connection between calcification of the breast arteries and heart disease, according to the researchers.

Mammography screening is recommended for women 50 and over every two years. Early detection is carried out in specially specialized centers. During the examination, the chest is x-rayed from two sides: once from top to bottom and once from the side. In addition to small tumors, the doctors can also track down so-called microcalcifications in the pictures, which are considered early signs of a certain form of breast tumors. But preventive care is also controversial because sometimes tumors are found and treated that might never have caused health problems. (away)

Source: Margolies L et al. Digital Mammography and Screening for Coronary Artery Disease. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2016. doi: 10.1016 / j.jcmg.2015.10.022

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