Risk discrimination of incident myocardial infarction events improved by adding coronary artery calcium to PREDICT risk
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, May 21, 2025 (HealthDay News) — The 2023 Predicting Risk of Cardiovascular Disease Events (PREVENT) risk score accurately identifies individuals with coronary artery calcium (CAC), according to a research letter published online May 21 in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
Aaron J. Rhee, M.D., from New York University in New York City, and colleagues queried electronic health records to compare PREVENT risk scores with subclinical coronary atherosclerosis, detected through scoring of CAC deposits on coronary computed tomography angiography.
A total of 6,961 patients had no missing PREVENT inputs. The researchers found that PREVENT risk was <5, 5 to 7.5, 7.5 to 20, and >20 percent in 43.6, 15.8, 34.4, and 6.2 percent, respectively, with median CAC of 0, 0, 19, and 101, for each category. The Spearman correlation was 0.47 between PREVENT and CAC scores. Among those with PREVENT score <5 and 5 to 7.5 percent, 24.6 and 45.4 percent, respectively, had CAC ≥1. PREVENT scores provided good discrimination of CAC ≥1 and >100 (areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve, 0.755 and 0.761, respectively). Risk discrimination of incident myocardial infarction events was significantly improved by adding CAC to PREVENT risk (change in c-statistic, 0.014); the reverse was true but not statistically significant.
“The findings illustrate that PREVENT is accurate in identifying people who may have subclinical risk for cardiovascular disease, meaning blocked arteries before symptoms develop,” coauthor Morgan E. Grams, M.D, Ph.D., also from New York University, said in a statement.
One author disclosed ties to Heartflow and Abbott Vascular.
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