AI Article Synopsis
- Aortic valve calcification (AVC) and mitral annulus calcification (MAC) are linked to atherosclerosis and can indicate cardiovascular risks.
- In a study of 62 patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), those with ischemic DCM (DCMI+) had significantly higher calcium scores from echocardiograms compared to those with non-ischemic DCM (DCMI-).
- This suggests that echocardiographic assessment of cardiac calcification can effectively help differentiate between ischemic and non-ischemic forms of DCM, making it a valuable, low-cost diagnostic tool.
Article Abstract
Background: Aortic valve calcification (AVC) and/or mitral annulus calcification (MAC) is considered to be a marker of atherosclerosis and has been demonstrated to predict cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.
Aim: We hypothesized that the presence of cardiac calcification by echocardiography can be used in the differential diagnosis between ischaemic (DCMI+) and nonischaemic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCMI-).
Methods: We evaluated 62 patients with DCM (38 males, mean age 66 +/- 10 years, LVEF < 40%), without any prior history of myocardial infarction or coronary intervention, who were undergoing coronary angiography for aetiological diagnosis. DCMI+ was considered present when a > or = 70% stenosis of at least one coronary artery was found. AVC, MAC, aortic wall and papillary muscle calcifications were semiquantitatively assessed by two-dimensional echocardiographic examination with a calcium score ranging from 0 (no calcifications) to 8 (calcium in all four sites).
Results: DCMI+ was found in 20 out of 62 patients. As expected, there were no differences in LVEF and LV end-diastolic diameters between DCMI+ and DCMI--patients (29 +/- 8% versus 31 +/- 10% and 66 +/- 6 versus 68 +/- 8 mm, respectively; not significant). Regional wall motion abnormalities and conventional risk factors for atherosclerosis, such as hypertension and hypercholesterolaemia, were significantly more frequent in the DCMI+ compared to the DCMI- group. On the other hand, the calcium echo score was 4.6 +/- 2 (range 1.7-7.3) in DCMI+ patients and 0.8 +/- 0.95 (range 0-4) in DCMI--patients (P < 0.05). A calcium score > or = 3 was observed in 18 out of 20 (90%) DCMI+ patients and only in three of 42 (8%) DCMI--patients.
Conclusions: The assessment of cardiac calcification by two-dimensional echocardiography could represent a simple, noninvasive and inexpensive approach to assess the aetiology (ischaemic versus nonischaemic) of dilated cardiomyopathy.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.2459/01.JCM.0000215271.32273.62 | DOI Listing |
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