Breast Arterial Calcifications on Mammography: A Review of the Literature.
Authors
Affiliations (10)
Affiliations (10)
- Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
- Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA.
- Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.
- Houston Methodist Hospital and Weill Medical College of Cornell University, Houston, Texas, USA.
- Department of Population Health Science and Policy, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
- Elizabeth Wende Breast Care, Rochester, NY, USA.
- Department of Radiology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
- Department of Radiology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA.
- Solis Mammography, Addison, Texas, USA.
- Department of Diagnostic, Molecular and Interventional Radiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
Abstract
Identifying systemic disease with medical imaging studies may improve population health outcomes. Although the pathogenesis of peripheral arterial calcification and coronary artery calcification differ, breast arterial calcification (BAC) on mammography is associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD), a leading cause of death in women. While professional society guidelines on the reporting or management of BAC have not yet been established, and assessment and quantification methods are not yet standardized, the value of reporting BAC is being considered internationally as a possible indicator of subclinical CVD. Furthermore, artificial intelligence (AI) models are being developed to identify and quantify BAC on mammography, as well as to predict the risk of CVD. This review outlines studies evaluating the association of BAC and CVD, introduces the role of preventative cardiology in clinical management, discusses reasons to consider reporting BAC, acknowledges current knowledge gaps and barriers to assessing and reporting calcifications, and provides examples of how AI can be utilized to measure BAC and contribute to cardiovascular risk assessment. Ultimately, reporting BAC on mammography might facilitate earlier mitigation of cardiovascular risk factors in asymptomatic women.