Assessing the Stress Echocardiography in Women with Breast Arterial Calcification

Elham Shobeiri; Alireza Rai; Mohammad Rouzbahani; Reza Heidari moghadam; Javad Azimivghar; Faranak Pourmirza; Hooman Tadbiri; Nahid Salehi

doi:10.18502/jfrh.v15i3.7138

Elham Shobeiri Department of Radiology, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran
Alireza Rai Cardiovascular Research Center, Health Institute, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran
Mohammad Rouzbahani Cardiovascular Research Center, Health Institute, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran
Reza Heidari moghadam Cardiovascular Research Center, Health Institute, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran
Javad Azimivghar Cardiovascular Research Center, Health Institute, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran
Faranak Pourmirza Department of Radiology, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran
Hooman Tadbiri Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, USA
Nahid Salehi Cardiovascular Research Center, Health Institute, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/jfrh.v15i3.7138

Keywords: Breast; Arteries; Echocardiography; Myocardial Ischemia; Women

Abstract

Objective: breast arterial calcification (BAC) is one of the most prevalent mammographic findings and has been debated as a marker of cardiovascular disease (CVDs). The present study aimed to assess the findings of stress echo in women with BAC.

Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on women who undergo mammography for routine breast cancer screening at Imam Reza hospital, western Iran from March 2018 to July 2018. The patients underwent stress echocardiography to evaluate the probability of myocardial ischemia (MI). Chi-square and independent t-tests were used to assess the differences between subgroups.

Results: BAC was present in 61 (15.2%) women. The mean age of the patients with BAC was significantly higher than the patients without BAC (58.59± 7.82 vs. 55.32±6.57, p =0.003). Prevalence rates of the menopause (88.5% vs. 71.1%, p=0.009), hypertension (29.5% vs. 17.7%, p=0.032), and hypercholesterolemia (24.6% vs. 13.0, p=0.018) were significantly higher in the patients with BAC compared to the patients without BAC. The prevalence rate of MI symptoms in the patients with BAC was equal to 24.6%. Signiﬁcantly, more women with BAC were positive for myocardial ischemia compared to the women without BAC (24.6% vs. 8.5%, p<0.001). The prevalence rates of the diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and history of CVDs were significantly higher in the patients who were positive for MI.

Conclusion: It was found that BACs are correlated with an increased occurrence rate of CVDs. Our results illustrated that the patients who were positive for MI were more plausible to be diabetic, hyperlipidemic, hypertensive, and having a history of CVDs.