Mammograms May Offer Early Insight Into Cardiovascular Disease

Mammograms are widely used to help detect breast cancer, but they may also offer insight into heart health.

The routine X-ray screening may identify breast arterial calcification (BAC), which is the presence of calcium deposits within the walls of the small arteries in the breast.

On a mammogram, BAC is commonly identified as thin, white, parallel lines that give a “tram-track” appearance.

While BAC is harmless to the breasts, it is associated with a significantly higher risk of cardiovascular disease. A 2022 studyTrusted Source found women with BAC were 51% more likely to develop heart disease or experience a stroke than those without it.

Laxmi Mehta, MD, a cardiologist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, said BAC is associated with cardiovascular risk factors, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. Additionally, BAC has been connected to:

• coronary artery disease
• heart failure
• stroke
• cardiac death

“The reasons for BAC resulting in higher risks for cardiovascular disease are not definitely determined; however, there are some potential mechanisms, one being that they share similar risk factors that result in vascular injury or metabolic stress that result in vascular calcification and atherosclerosis,” Mehta told Healthline.

Cheng-Han Chen, MD, interventional cardiologist and medical director of the Structural Heart Program at MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center, added that because BAC and heart disease share many of the same risk factors, “calcium in breast arteries therefore suggests disease in the heart (coronary) and brain arteries as well,” he told Healthline.

Source: https://www.healthline.com/health-news/mammograms-may-offer-early-detection-cardiovascular-disease