Comparison of calcium scores from thick- and thin image slice-computed tomography scanning in predicting future coronary events.

Computed tomographic image slices between 2.5 and 3.0 mm are commonly used for coronary calcium scanning. To evaluate the comparative accuracy of thicker image slices (5 to 6 mm) for predicting coronary events, we acquired both types of scans in 280 research participants and clinically followed them up for 7 years. We found that thick-slice image scanning and image assessment ranked calcium scores similarly and that measurements from both scanning methods predicted coronary heart disease events equally.