The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of coronary calcification among moderate- to high-risk Chinese patients and to evaluate the ability of the coronary
calcium score determined by electron beam computed tomography (EBCT) to predict angiographic
coronary artery disease in this population. We enrolled 163 consecutive patients and analyzed their cardiovascular risk factors, coronary
calcium scores and coronary angiogram results. One hundred and twenty-five patients (76.7%) had a positive EBCT scan result (coronary
calcium score >0). The prevalence of calcification and the
calcium scores showed a graded relation to the number of cardiovascular risk factors and age (p < 0.001 for trend). Coronary
calcium scores showed statistically significant differences between patients with angiographic evidence of
coronary artery disease and patients with normal coronary angiography (p < 0.05), but could not differentiate between patients with significant and insignificant
coronary artery disease. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that a coronary
calcium score >5 predicted angiographic
coronary artery disease with 93% sensitivity and 86% specificity (area under the curve 0.95 +/- 0.019). Multivariate analysis showed a coronary
calcium score >5 to be the strongest independent predictor of angiographic
coronary artery disease (odds ratio 120.7, 95% confidence interval 21.7-671.4; p < 0.001). Coronary
calcium score determined by EBCT appears to have a similar predictive value in Chinese patients as it does in other ethnic populations that have been reported to date.