Value of visual coronary artery calcification score compared with Agatston score in predicting coronary heart disease
HE Yi1, LI Lian2, YANG Hao1, LIU Tao1, HU Houyuan1
1. Department of Cardiovascular Medicine/Center for Circadian Metabolism and Cardiovascular Disease;2. Department of Radiology, the Southwest Hospital/ the First Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University, Chongqing 400038 , China
Abstract:Objective To explore the predictive value of visual coronary artery calcium score(VCACS) for coronary heart disease(CHD). Methods A retrospective collection of data was conducted on patients who underwent chest CT(with a slice thickness of 1.25 mm) and coronary CT angiography(CCTA) in Southwest Hospital of Army Medical University from July 2018 to July 2023. The imaging data were analyzed by experienced radiologists, and the patients with coronary artery stenosis ≥50% on CCTA were included in the CHD group. Agatston scores were derived from the analysis of ECG-gated cardiac CT using specialized software. Spearman's correlation analysis was employed to explore the relationship between Agatston scores and VCACS in all participants, different Agatston score ranges (0-10, 11-100, 101-400, >400) and age groups(≤65 years, >65 years). Univariate logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association between variables with CHD. After selecting statistically significant variables, multivariate logistic regression was employed to investigate the association between the total VCACS(tVCACS) subgroups and CHD. At the same time, the prediction model of XGBoost machine learning algorithm was constructed, and the significance analysis of SHAP features was combined to quantify the predictive value of each feature variable on CHD. Results A total of 287 participants, aged from 30 to 90 years, were included in the study, with 177 males. A total of 153 participants(53.3%) were classified into the CHD group. In the overall cohort, different Agatston score ranges and age groups, VCACS demonstrated good consistency with Agatston score in assessing the degree of coronary artery calcification. The tVCACS in CHD group was significantly higher than that in non-CHD group. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the OR of tVCACS 2-5 group was 2.23(95% CI: 1.22-4.08), and the OR of the tVCACS≥6 group was 20.26(95% CI: 5.76-71.26), indicating a significantly increased risk of CHD with higher tVCACS. SHAP feature importance analysis also demonstrated that tVCACS had a higher predictive value for CHD risk than other factors. Conclusions VCACS obtained through 1.25 mm chest CT demonstrates a good correlation with Agatston score and has potential clinical application value in predicting CHD.
何宜, 李莲, 杨浩, 刘涛, 胡厚源. 视觉冠状动脉钙化积分相较于Agatston积分预测冠心病的价值[J]. 武警医学, 2025, 36(3): 224-228.
HE Yi, LI Lian, YANG Hao, LIU Tao, HU Houyuan. Value of visual coronary artery calcification score compared with Agatston score in predicting coronary heart disease. Med. J. Chin. Peop. Armed Poli. Forc., 2025, 36(3): 224-228.
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