Abstract 15267: Differential Effect of Calcium Score on Major Adverse Cardiac Events in Men and Women

Introduction: Coronary artery calcium (CAC) is well-validated for cardiovascular risk stratification. There are well-known gender differences in the presentation, diagnosis, and management of cardiac diseases that have been extensively studied in the past. To date, there have not been extensive studies to look at the differential effect of CAC score on major adverse cardiac events (MACE; defined as death, MI, stroke, or coronary revascularization) amongst men and women. The objective of our study is to look at this aspect.

Methods/Results: Data were analyzed on a group of 1,380 patients who had participated in both the Sanford Health Heart Screen Program and the Sanford Health Preemptive Genomic Screening Program. These patients had their heart screen between 2011 and 2021 and their genetic testing between 2018-2022. Patients consented to both forms of screening independently, and the results were analyzed by means of a retrospective review. While other genetic factors were excluded from this study, we separated patients by sex. This sample had 64% female and 36% male. 10% of males had a MACE event and 4.9% of females had a MACE event. Males had higher levels of CAC (M=249.55, SD=550.41) compared to that of females (M=57.97, SD=190.5). The correlation between CAC and MACE was higher for males (r=0.33, p<0.01) than it was for females (r=0.17, p<0.05), Zou’s CI [.06, .26].

Conclusion: Males, overall had a higher level of CAC score compared to females. The correlation between the CAC score and MACE was also higher for males, as compared to females.