Evaluating Association Between Coronary Calcifications Visualized During Invasive Coronary Angiography With Total Mortality

Background: High calcium score is independently associated with a greater cardiac event rate. Using a large database of patients who underwent coronary angiography for clinical reasons, we evaluated the association between reported degree of coronary calcification with mortality and baseline risk factors. Methods: Using angiographic data of 1917 patients from 1993 to 1997, we studied any association between the locations of coronary calcium that were seen during coronary angiography with coronary artery risk factors. Furthermore, we correlated the locations of calcium with all cause mortality. Results: A total of 1917 patients who underwent cardiac catheterization from 1993 to 1997 were studied. Total mortality was 22.9%. There was no association between the classic coronary risk factors (history of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, smoking, diabetes mellitus and family history) or race (White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian) with the occurrence of angiographic visible calcium in any location. Furthermore, we did not find any association between the locations of coronary calcium with all cause mortality. (All cause mortality occurred in 21.8% of patients with left main calcification vs. 23.3%, P = 0.63, in 24.6% of patients with left anterior descending artery calcification vs. 22.7%, P = 0.48, in 25.6% of patients with circumflex calcification vs. 23.1%, P = 0.52, in 25.7% of right coronary calcification vs. 22.7%, P = 0.47, in 24.6 of any coronary calcification vs. 22.5%, P = 0.4). Conclusions: Race, coronary risk factors, and all cause mortality are not associated with angiographic documented coronary calcification in any location in patients undergoing diagnostic coronary angiography.