Leveling coronary artery disease playing field with CAC

American Journal of Preventative Cardiology 13 (2023) 100455

Anandita Agarwala, Jaideep Patel, Michael Blaha, Miguel Cainzos-Achirica, Khurram Nasir, Matthew Budoff

Abstract

South Asian (SA) individuals, particularly those that reside in the United States and other Westernized countries, are at an elevated risk for ASCVD and mortality related to ASCVD. The 2018 ACC/AHA/Multi-society Cholesterol guideline listed SA as a high-risk ethnicity, underscoring the importance of treating modifiable risk factors to reduce ASCVD burden. Coronary artery calcium (CAC), a highly specific marker of subclinical atherosclerosis, may be a useful test to improve risk stratification among SA individuals. CAC testing is a cost-effective, highly reproducible, and specific marker of subclinical atherosclerosis, shown to improve ASCVD risk assessment across all racial/ethnic groups, thereby serving as a guide for initiating or deferring preventive therapies. In this White Paper we will discuss the use of CAC scoring to optimize risk stratification and delivery of preventive therapies to individuals of SA ethnicity.

Keywords

South Asian; Coronary artery calcium; Prevention; Statin; Lipid

Link to Full Text: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666667722001398