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Increasingly, radiologists are reporting calcification of coronary arteries as an incidental finding on computed tomography (CT) performed for lung cancer screening. How common is this finding, and is it an independent risk factor for subsequent adverse coronary events? To address these questions, researchers in Ottawa, Canada, conducted a retrospective study that involved 1500 current or former smokers with no history of myocardial infarction or coronary revascularization who underwent CT lung cancer screening.
Half the patients had mild-to-moderate coronary calcium, and 30% had extensive coronary calcium, according to a scheme outlined by the authors. During mean follow-up of 51 months, the incidence of adverse cardiovascular events was 5.…