Heart attacks could be predicted years in advance with a simple X-ray showing Abdominal Aortic Calcification (AAC)

Researchers evaluated the prognostic importance of abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) viewed on noninvasive imaging modalities such as X-ray.

Electronic databases (MEDLINE and Embase) were searched until March 2018 and the analysis included 52 studies with a total of 36,000 patients.

However, only studies of patients with chronic kidney disease (57%) and older‐elderly (median age 68 years) had sufficient data to meta‐analyze.

People with any or more advanced AAC had higher risk of cardiovascular events (RR, 1.83), fatal cardiovascular events (RR, 1.85, and all‐cause mortality (RR, 1.98).

Higher‐risk populations, such as the elderly and those with chronic kidney disease with AAC have substantially greater risk of future cardiovascular events and poorer prognosis.

References:

https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/JAHA.120.017205 

https://www.studyfinds.org/heart-attacks-predicted-years-in-advance/