Keywords:
Cardiac, Cardiovascular system, Kidney, CT, Computer Applications-General, Computer Applications-Detection, diagnosis, Calcifications / Calculi, Arteriosclerosis
Authors:
G. Rovere, V. Vingiani, F. Paciolla, M. Muciaccia, G. Savino, B. Merlino, P. M. Ferraro, R. Marano, R. Manfredi; Rome/IT
DOI:
10.26044/ecr2019/C-3490
Conclusion
The main finding of our study was that AAC was associated with the stone composition; in particular,
we found:
-a significant direct association with the amount of calcium phosphate: the odds of AAC increased by about 25% for each 10% shift in stone composition from calcium oxalate to calcium phosphate.
Interestingly,
vascular calcifications are also made of calcium phosphate,
suggesting the presence of a common pathway which could involve abnormalities in the physiological biomineralization process.
-a high prevalence of AAC in an unselected sample of stone formers (60.0%); these figures are not dissimilar from those found with a similar methodological approach in populations with established risk factors for cardiovascular disease such as those undergoing coronary CT angiography.
This finding strengthens the hypothesis that kidney stone disease may be an independent cardiovascular risk factor,
as suggested by large epidemiological studies in which the association between a history of stones and subsequent cardiovascular events remained significant after controlling for known risk factors such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
These results might have clinical implications as certain types of stone formers might benefit from preventive measures to reduce cardiovascular risk.