Measuring Coronary Artery Calcium in People with Type 2 Diabetes Identifies a Low-Risk Subset

A promising cardiovascular (CV) risk stratification tool is computed tomography (CT) measurement of coronary artery calcium. But how well does this tool perform in people with type 2 diabetes? In this meta-analysis of eight prospective studies, investigators evaluated the association of coronary artery calcium scores with all-cause mortality and adverse CV events (e.g., myocardial infarction) in more than 6500 patients.

Overall, 29% of participants had coronary calcium scores <10. After a mean follow-up of 5.2 years, 802 events (fatal and non-fatal CV events and all-cause mortality) had occurred. Compared with coronary calcium scores <10, scores ≥10 were associated with significantly elevated risk for the composite outcome of all-cause morta…