Mammograms save lives by detecting breast cancer while it’s in its most treatable stage -- but they may be able to detect more than cancer.
Promising new research shows that a mammogram could also detect heart disease without any change in the way they’re done or any extra cost.
Mammography has reached a new level of detail. The images captured usually show areas with extra calcium deposits, depending on their appearance they can suggest early cancer -- they can be harmless. Or, if they are in the arteries of the breast, they can suggest a problem with calcifications in other areas of the body, like the heart.
Dr. Sabala Mandava is a specialist in breast imaging and a vice-chair of radiology in the Henry Ford Health System.
“When we see extensive breast arterial calcifications in women under the age of 60 on screening mammograms, that triggers a little warning bell because we tend to not see it as commonly in younger women,” Mandava said.
That warning bell suggests there may be a higher risk of coronary artery disease in those younger women. Now, a new study in the American Heart Association Journal Circulation wanted to know if the same concern about breast arterial calcifications would hold in older women.
“They are very common in older women and certainly there can be range. Some will have a few, some will have a lot more, but with our current data, we don’t know what that means,” Mandava said.
After looking at the routine screening mammograms of more than 500 women between 60 and 79, the researchers found the presence of significant breast arterial calcification was associated with a 51% higher chance of having heart disease. A huge potential extra value to having a mammogram.
More research needs to be done to figure out exactly how much arterial calcification is significant and I should point out not having breast arterial calcifications does not mean you might not still have heart disease.