Clinical Value of Cardiovascular Calcifications on Non-Enhanced, Non-ECG-Gated Chest CT
10.3348/jksr.2020.81.2.324
- Author:
Tae Seop CHOI
1
;
Hwan Seok YONG
;
Cherry KIM
;
Young Joo SUH
Author Information
1. Department of Radiology, Korea University Guro Hospital, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, Korea
- Publication Type:Review Article
- From:Journal of the Korean Radiological Society
2020;81(2):324-336
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
Cardiovascular calcifications can occur in various cardiovascular diseases and can serve as a biomarker for cardiovascular event prediction. Advances in CT have enabled evaluation of calcifications in cardiovascular structures not only on ECG-gated CT but also on non-ECG-gated CT. Therefore, many studies have been conducted on the clinical relevance of cardiovascular calcifications in patients. In this study, we divided cardiovascular calcifications into three classes, i.e., coronary artery, thoracic aorta, and cardiac valve calcifications, which are closely associated with cardiovascular events. Further, we briefly described pericardial calcifications, which can be found incidentally. Since the start of lung cancer screening in Korea in the second half of 2019, the number of non-enhanced, non-ECG-gated, low-dose chest CT has been increasing, and the number of incidentally found cardiovascular calcifications has also been increasing. Therefore, understanding the relevance of cardiovascular calcifications on non-enhanced, non-ECG-gated, low-dose chest CT and their proper reporting are important for radiologists.
