Using coronary calcification to exclude an ischemic etiology for cardiomyopathy: A validation study and systematic review.

Background: Preliminary data suggests the absence of coronary artery calcification (CAC) excludes ischemic etiologies of cardiomyopathy. We prospectively validate and perform a systematic review to determine the utility of an Agatston score=0 to exclude the diagnosis of ischemic cardiomyopathy.

Methods And Results: Patients with newly diagnosed LV dysfunction were prospectively enrolled.