Coronary calcium score in cardiovascular risk stratification

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the world and in Uruguay. Cardiovascular prevention consists of a therapeutic clinical approach with the objective of reducing cardiovascular morbidity and mortality based on the estimated cardiovascular risk of each person. Thus, cardiovascular risk stratification in asymptomatic individuals with the objective of guide and establish preventive treatment measures is of crucial importance. For this, clinical risk scores are used worldwide, including the Framingham risk score, the SCORE(1) and the Pooled Cohort Equations(2), among others.
However, these risk scores are not perfect prediction tools. While these global risk scores estimate risk based on the distribution of the risk factor in a population, the coronary calcium score is a direct marker of coronary atherosclerosis in a given individual. In the last three decades, numerous studies have demonstrated the usefulness of the coronary calcium score as a cardiovascular risk stratification tool. It is therefore important to understand how, for what and whyit is done.