CT scans are better at predicting a middle-aged person’s risk for a heart disease than genetics, according to a new US study.
Conventional measures of risk-factor levels, such as blood pressure and cholesterol, are used by doctors to determine likelihood of developing coronary heart disease or blockages of the arteries in the heart.
But some people may experience a heart attack, or related heart problem, without one of those conventional measures picking it up.
The new study directly compares genetics and CT scans for coronary artery calcium and demonstrates that the CT scan does a better job than genetics at predicting risk for heart disease in middle age.
The study used data from 3208 adults from two cohort studies. Investigators used data on risk factors for heart disease (smoking status, cholesterol levels, blood pressure), genetics and CT scan data to estimate the risk of heart disease.