Incidental findings can predict cardiac disease

Radiologists can predict cardiovascular disease using incidental findings from routine diagnostic CT, according to a study appearing in Radiology. Using incidental findings of calcifications on the aortic wall on CT, along with minimal patient information such as age and gender, radiologists can stratify risk.

Dr. Martijn Gondrie, from the Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care at the University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands, and colleagues developed prediction models incorporating incidental aortic findings detected on chest CT. Scores were assigned for abnormalities including calcifications, plaques, elongation, and other irregularities.

The model incorporating the sum score for aortic calcifications best predicted future cardiovascular events.

Gondrie’s work is part of the Prognostic Value of Ancillary Information in Diagnostic Imaging project, which is investigating the relevance of unexpected imaging findings detected on chest CT.