Husna, Amity University Kolkata
Cardiovascular disease which includes heart disease and stroke is referred to as a silent killer because many people aren’t even aware that they are at risk, yet it is the number one cause of death globally and causes around 9.4 million deaths each year.
A new Edith Cowan University-led study has demonstrated an early warning sign for heart disease such as the abdominal or coronary artery calcification. Coronary artery calcification occurs when there is a deposition of calcium within the walls of the arteries which supply oxygen-rich blood to the heart thus blocking the blood supply or leading to plaque rupture which is a leading cause of heart attacks and strokes. Poor diet, sedentary lifestyle, smoking and genetics are some of the factors which contribute to this artery calcification.
The abdominal aorta is one of the first sites in the body where calcium builds up and hardens the arteries even before the heart, so by this future heart attacks and strokes can be predicted. Research has inferred that people who have abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) are at two to four times higher risk of a future cardiovascular event. These findings could also help doctors to identify as well as assess the people at risk of developing cardiovascular disease years before the symptoms arise. The abdominal aortic calcification can be picked up in many routine tests including the lateral spine scans from bone density machines or x-rays.
So, if this could be picked up early, we can intervene and implement some lifestyle changes and medication as well as treatments which will help to stop the condition to progress further and worsen which could potentially save many lives in the future.
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SOURCE: Prognostic value of abdominal aortic calcification: A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies 13 January 2021, Journal of the American Heart Association.https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/JAHA.120.017205
Excellent writing dear Husna! 😇😊 thanks for this informative article.