Coronary Artery Calcium Score may serve as guide for the treatment of Hypertension

A study by McEvoy et al published in Circulation determined that computed tomography of the heart used to detect coronary artery calcium levels (CAC) can assist in the creation of treatment plans for patients with high blood pressure.

Their study tracked 3,733 people whose mean age was 65 years and had a systolic blood pressure between 120 and 179 mm Hg.  During the study period that tracked the enrolled patients for over 10 years 642 events were detected. 

The researchers found that patients with calcium scores of zero who were at high risk of arteriosclerotic heart disease (ASCVD) their incidence of a heart attack or stroke was low. While patients with systolic blood pressure lower than 140 mm Hg and a low risk of heart disease that had a CAC of more than 100 their incidence of a heart attack or stroke was higher.

The authors concluded that CAC scoring and assessment of arteriosclerotic vascular disease may guide in the determination of selecting as a goal to achieve the traditional 140 mm Hg or a lower systolic blood pressure such as 120 mm Hg particularly among patients with an estimated ASCVD risk of 5-15% and prehypertension or mild hypertension.