Cardarelli R, et al. - The physicians aimed to investigate the association of select cardiovascular risk factors with the progression of coronary artery calcium (CAC) over a 2-year period and the relationship between CAC progression and experiencing a composite cardiovascular disease (CVD) event. After adjusting for age and sex, several baseline risk factors remained significant. They found an independent association between CAC progression with a composite CVD event.

• The physicians enrolled 311 asymptomatic participants aged >44 years from a collaborative network of primary care clinics.
• Repeated CAC measurements were collected.

• By a mean of 24.45 Agatston units, an average of 24.4 months separated scans and CAC scores increased.
• In this study, 113 participants (30%) showed CAC progression, while the rest demonstrated no change or a decrease in CAC over 2 years.
• The following were associated with 2-year CAC progression in adjusted regression models that controlled for age and sex: dyslipidemia, systolic blood pressure, fasting glucose, and non–high-density lipoprotein.
• Furthermore, after controlling for known risk factors, those with progressive CAC measures were >4 times more prone to experience a composite CVD event in 2 years.