Coronary Artery Disease in an Asymptomatic Population Undergoing a Multidetector Computed Tomography (MDCT) Coronary Angiography

AIM: To assess the prevalence of coronary artery disease (CAD) in asymptomatic subjects using multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) and its relationships to demographic and clinical risk factors. MATERIAL AND METHOD: We enrolled consecutive asymptomatic volunteers with no evidence of ischemic heart disease that underwent MDCT for the early detection of CAD. All MDCT findings were correlated with demographic and risk factors. A total of 2820 coronary segments were analyzed in 188 asymptomatic subjects (150 males and 38 females), aged 54.4 ± 7.4 years. RESULTS: A total of 128 (68%) demonstrated MDCT findings compatible with CAD; of these 111 (86.7%) had non-significant (diameter stenosis ≤ 50%) and 17 (13.3%) had significant CAD (diameter stenosis ≥ 50%). Compared with older subjects (mean age 56±8 years), younger subjects had a lower prevalence of MDCT findings of CAD 55.5% vs. 12.5%, respectively (P<0.001), regardless of risk factors. Males had more CAD (mostly non-significant) compared with females (109 [72.7%] vs. 19 [50.3%], respectively; P= 0.007). Subjects with ≥ 2 risk factors had a higher prevalence of CAD in general and significant CAD in particular (P<0.001). CONCLUSION: CAD in asymptomatic population seems to be not uncommon. Using MDCT a high prevalence of non-significant and low prevalence of significant CAD was discovered in middle age asymptomatic population.