Mitral annular calcium, inducible myocardial ischemia, and cardiovascular events in outpatients with coronary heart disease (from the Heart and Soul Study).

We sought to determine whether mitral annular calcium (MAC) is associated with inducible myocardial ischemia and adverse cardiovascular outcomes in ambulatory patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). MAC is associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the general population, but its association with CVD outcomes in patients with CAD has not been evaluated. We examined the association of MAC with inducible ischemia and subsequent cardiovascular events in 1,020 ambulatory patients with CAD who were enrolled in the Heart and Soul Study. We used logistic regression to determine the association of MAC with inducible ischemia and Cox proportional hazards models to determine the association with CVD events (myocardial infarction, heart failure, stroke, transient ischemic attack or death). Models were adjusted for age, gender, race, smoking, history of heart failure, blood pressure, high-density lipoprotein, and estimated glomerular filtration rate. Of the 1,020 participants 192 (19%) had MAC. Participants with MAC were more likely than those without MAC to have inducible ischemia (adjusted odds ratio 2.06, 95% confidence interval 1.41 to 3.01, p = 0.0002). During an average of 6.26 ± 2.11 years of follow-up, there were 310 deaths, 161 hospitalizations for heart failure, 118 myocardial infarctions, and 55 cerebrovascular events. MAC was associated with an increased rate of cardiovascular events (adjusted hazard ratio 1.39, 95% confidence interval 1.08 to 1.79, p = 0.01). In conclusion, we found that MAC was associated with inducible ischemia and subsequent CVD events in ambulatory patients with CAD. MAC may indicate a high atherosclerotic burden and identify patients at increased risk for adverse cardiovascular outcomes.