Baseline clinical characteristics by visually estimated coronary artery calcium categories
| VECAC ≤10 N=416 | VECAC 11–400 N=74 | VECAC >400 N=118 | Trend p value | |
| Age, years | 55.3±11.4 | 63.5±8.7 | 65.8±10.6 | <0.001 |
| Men, n (%) | 126 (30.3%) | 29 (39.2%) | 57 (48.3%) | <0.001 |
| Race, n (%) | <0.001 | |||
| White | 103 (24.8%) | 26 (35.1%) | 49 (41.5%) | |
| Black | 297 (71.4%) | 44 (59.5%) | 65 (55.1%) | |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 38.9±10.5 | 34.7±7.8 | 32.7±8.9 | <0.001 |
| Comorbidities, n (%) | ||||
| Hypertension | 340 (81.7%) | 64 (86.5%) | 99 (83.9%) | 0.46 |
| Hyperlipidaemia | 234 (56.2%) | 47 (63.5%) | 91 (77.1%) | <0.001 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 166 (39.9%) | 35 (47.3%) | 56 (47.9%) | 0.09 |
| Obstructive sleep apnoea | 134 (32.2%) | 17 (23.0%) | 32 (27.1%) | 0.17 |
| Family history of coronary artery disease | 145 (34.9%) | 27 (36.5%) | 37 (31.4%) | 0.55 |
| Congestive heart failure | 79 (19.0%) | 15 (20.3%) | 29 (24.6%) | 0.19 |
| Stroke | 46 (11.1%) | 11 (14.9%) | 19 (16.1%) | 0.12 |
| Peripheral artery disease | 19 (4.6 %) | 5 (6.8%) | 12 (10.2 %) | 0.022 |
| Current smoker | 61 (14.7%) | 12 (16.2%) | 11 (9.3%) | 0.19 |
| Medication use, n (%) | ||||
| Aspirin | 212 (51.0%) | 43 (58.1%) | 71 (60.2%) | 0.06 |
| P2Y12 inhibitor | 12 (2.9 %) | 5 (6.8 %) | 13 (11.0 %) | <0.001 |
| ACE-I or ARB | 205 (49.3%) | 47 (63.5%) | 71 (60.2%) | 0.013 |
| Beta-blocker | 189 (45.4%) | 45 (60.8%) | 80 (67.8%) | <0.001 |
| Calcium channel blocker | 166 (39.9%) | 32 (43.2%) | 63 (53.4%) | 0.011 |
| Ezetimibe | 8 (1.9 %) | 4 (5.4 %) | 6 (5.1 %) | 0.041 |
| Insulin | 88 (21.2%) | 24 (32.4%) | 44 (37.3%) | <0.001 |
| Metformin | 80 (19.2%) | 22 (29.7 %) | 22 (18.6%) | 0.73 |
| Statin | 195 (46.9%) | 47 (63.5%) | 86 (72.9%) | <0.001 |
| Laboratory testing | ||||
| Estimated glomerular filtration rate (mL/min/m2) | 69±26 | 63±26 | 54±31 | <0.001 |
| Glucose | 122±42 | 126±45 | 126±42 | 0.33 |
| Haemoglobin (mg/dL) | 12.4±2.3 | 13.1±1.7 | 12.4±2.4 | 0.64 |
| Low density lipoprotein cholesterol (mg/dL) | 109±62 | 100±39 | 86±37 | 0.007 |
| PET findings | ||||
| End diastolic volume (mL)* | 35 (74, 122) | 90 (72, 121) | 93 (72, 136) | 0.99 |
| End systolic volume (mL)* | 29 (22, 44) | 27 (21, 45) | 31 (20, 62) | 0.25 |
| Ejection fraction (%) | 66±11 | 65±12 | 62±15 | <0.001 |
| Fixed or reversible defect (n, %) | 57 (13.7%) | 13 (17.6%) | 28 (23.7%) | 0.009 |
| Coronary flow reserve | 2.2±0.8 | 2.2±0.8 | 1.9±0.8 | <0.001 |
*Presented as median (25th–75th percentile) since values are skewed.
PET, positron emission tomography; ; VECAC, visually estimated coronary artery calcium.