Risk for ASCVD in Individuals Without Coronary Artery Calcium

Even in patients whose CAC=0, smoking, diabetes, and hypertension are risk factors for ASCVD events and should trigger consideration of preventive therapies.

It is suggested that individuals without any coronary artery calcium (CAC) are at low risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) events and that preventive therapies such as statins may be delayed or deferred in such patients. In a large multiethnic cohort without CAC or ASCVD at baseline, researchers evaluated whether traditional cardiovascular risk factors predicted ASCVD events during long-term, prospective follow-up.

Among 3416 participants (mean age, 58 years; 63% women; 33% white; 31% Black; 12% Chinese-American; and 24% Hispanic), 189 ASCVD events occurred during a median follow-up of 16 years (91 coronary heart disease [CHD] events, 88 stroke, and 10 both CHD events and stroke).
Unadjusted incidence rates were low (≤5 per…

Reviewing Author

Karol E. Watson, MD, PhD, FACC

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardBoehringer Ingelheim; Amgen; Novartis; Lilly; Amarin

Speaker’s BureauBoehringer Ingelheim

Grant/Research SupportNIH

Editorial BoardsCirculation (Associate Editor)