Risk factors such as obesity, high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure are clearly associated with an increased risk of heart attack – as the Framingham study has shown. This applies to population groups. But not necessarily to individual cases.
It was already clear around 20 years ago that the detection of deposits (atherosclerotic plaques) in the coronary arteries can predict an individual’s risk of heart attack – better than any other parameter.
The cardio-CT
Cardio-CT provides precise information about deposits in your coronary arteries. With the help of the so-called calcification or Agatston score, the deposits can be quantified and the risk of suffering a heart attack within the next few years can be predicted relatively precisely, determining whether preventive therapy should be initiated.
A retrospective analysis of cardio-CT data from almost 14,000 patients has now shown that patients with an Agatston score of over 100 points benefit significantly from treatment with cholesterol-lowering drugs (statins).
The risk of a heart attack or stroke was reduced by 68 percent in these patients as a result of statin therapy. With a lime score above 400 points, the figure was 44 percent.
It was interesting to note that all patients with a positive calcium test result, i.e. an Agatston score of 1 or higher, benefited from statin therapy: In this group, the risk of a heart attack or stroke decreased by 24 percent.
Only in patients with a calcium score of 0, i.e. coronary arteries without deposits, statin treatment showed no positive effect.
Risk factors for a heart attack
- Obesity
- High cholesterol levels
- High blood pressure
