Coronary artery calcium scoring was found to aid in choosing to pursue statin therapy in individuals with intermediate risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD).

A cross-sectional study performed by Jaideep Patel, MD; Vincent A. Pallazola, MD; and Ramzi Dudum, MD, MPH; et al, found that for patients with an intermediate risk of ASCVD “…most risk-enhancing factors (individual and combined) had an absolute atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease incidence rate of less than 7.5 events per 1000 person-years in the absence of subclinical atherosclerosis (coronary artery calcium score of 0). The use of coronary artery calcium scoring was associated with significant improvements in the reclassification and discrimination of atherosclerotic cardiovascular events.”

The study concluded that “…among participants with CAC scores of 0, the presence of risk-enhancing factors was generally not associated with an overall ASCVD risk that was higher than the recommended treatment threshold for the initiation of statin therapy. The use of CAC scoring was associated with significant improvements in the reclassification and discrimination of incident ASCVD. The results of this study support the utility of CAC scoring as an adjunct to risk-enhancing factor assessment to more accurately classify individuals with an intermediate risk of ASCVD who might benefit from statin therapy.

The study was published In Jama Cardiology on July 14, 2021, and can be accessed at https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamacardiology/article-abstract/2781973.

Citation: Patel J, Pallazola VA, Dudum R, et al. Assessment of Coronary Artery Calcium Scoring to Guide Statin Therapy Allocation According to Risk-Enhancing Factors: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. JAMA Cardiol. Published online July 14, 2021. doi:10.1001/jamacardio.2021.2321