Breast arterial calcification on mammography and cardiovascular outcomes in women: a meta-analysis
Artery calcification visible on routine mammograms strongly predicts heart disease risk, offering an actionable cardiovascular clue at no extra cost during screening.
This PRISMA-guided meta-analysis pooled ~30,000 women and found that breast arterial calcification detected on routine mammography doubles incident cardiovascular event risk (pooled HR 1.82) and quadruples odds of underlying coronary artery disease, with consistent findings across AI-derived and radiologist-read BAC measurements. This supports BAC as a scalable, no-added-cost cardiovascular risk marker that could be opportunistically integrated into existing screening programs for women.
What the study was
- Study design
- Systematic review and meta-analysis (PRISMA-guided)
- Population
- Women undergoing screening mammography; ~30,000 women across pooled cohorts
- Sample size
- 30000
- Category
- Diagnostics
- Maturity
- Validated
- Journal
- The American Journal of Cardiology
Why it surfaced
Strong meta-analytic evidence (n~30K) for BAC as opportunistic CV risk marker in women; no-added-cost integration into existing mammography programs; directly addresses underrecognized cardiometabolic risk in women; both AI and radiologist BAC approaches validated.
A plain-language summary of published research — not medical advice. Talk to a clinician about your own care.