According to recent studies, women’s routine mammograms for breast cancer screening may also provide information about their risk of heart disease.
A buildup of calcium in the breast arteries is indicated by white spots or lines on mammograms. Coronary artery calcification, which is recognized as a sign of increased cardiovascular risk, is not the same as breast arterial calcification. 5,059 postmenopausal women (ages 60 to 79) were monitored for six and a half years as part of the study. They discovered that compared to people without calcification, individuals with breast arterial calcification had a 51% higher risk of heart disease or stroke. Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging published the study on March 15, 2022.
Information on calcifications in the breast arteries is not usually included in mammography findings. The authors of the study anticipate that their findings may influence guidelines so that future reports will incorporate this information. However, they warn that a lower risk of cardiovascular disease is not always associated with the absence of calcification in breast arteries.