Each mammogram taken contains information, without additional cost or radiation exposure for patients, and research now suggests breast arterial calcification is as good as the standard risk factor-based estimate for predicting risk,” said lead author Prof. Harvey Hecht, MD, director of cardiovascular imaging at Mount Sinai St. Luke’s Hospital.
If this informaiton was used, it would:
“allow at-risk women to be referred for standard CAC scoring and to be able to start focusing on prevention, perhaps even taking a statin when it can make the most difference.”
Calcium in the arteries of the breast can be used to predict early buildup of plaque in the heart’s arteries, so potentially improving risk assessment in many women, especially young women