What is the association between coronary artery calcium and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) events?
A study conducted by Budoff et al. (2018) found that coronary artery calcium was positively associated with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) events in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). They found that a higher coronary artery calcium score was associated with an increased risk of ASCVD events over a 10-year period, even after adjusting for traditional cardiovascular risk factors. Additionally, McClelland et al. (2015) found that coronary artery calcium score was a strong predictor of 10-year coronary heart disease risk, which highlights the utility of including coronary artery calcium score in risk prediction models. 