Digital mammograms detect more than breast cancer—they also may identify early signs of heart disease. The digital machines, which now account for more than 95% of all mammograms, pick up levels of calcium deposits in the arteries inside the breast.
These are generally benign—in the breast. But calcium deposits (calcification) in the arteries that supply the heart are a well-established marker for coronary artery disease—the most common form of heart disease. A chest CT scan accurately measures calcium deposits in the coronary arteries, but it also exposes the patient to additional radiation, so it’s not done for everyone.
If you have calcium deposits in your breast arteries, however, you probably have them in your heart arteries, too, finds a new study. Radiologists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City studied 292 women who were not known to have heart disease who had digital mammograms and chest CT scans in the same year. Results: Breast calcium accurately predicted coronary calcium. It wasn’t a perfect match, but it identified women at high risk as accurately as standard cardiology scores.
So the next time you get a mammogram, ask your doctor if any calcification was visible.
Don’t panic if the answer is yes. It doesn’t mean you have heart disease. But it could be a wake-up call to work harder to reduce known risk factors such as high blood pressure and high blood sugar. Conversely, if you have little or no calcification, it may help you avoid an unnecessary prescription for a statin.
