A simple x-ray test can identify a person's risk for early death, The Business Standard reported.
Researchers at Emory University found that coronary artery calcification (CAC) scans -- an X-ray test that looks for specks of calcium in coronary arteries - could help identify people at risk for premature death.
"If you had no calcium or very small amounts, we were able to track over a very long time that you actually had a very outstanding survival," Leslee Shaw, who led the study, told HealthDay.
For the study, researchers analyzed the CAC scores and risk factor data of more than 9,700 patients between the years 1996 and 1999. They were scanned as "part a community-outreach screening program at an outpatient clinic in Nashville," The Economic Times reported. They showed no symptoms of coronary artery disease at the time of the scans.
They found that the CAC score accurately predicted "all-cause premature deaths up to 15 years in the asymptomatic patients," The Business Standard reported.
"These findings give us a better understanding of the importance of coronary calcium scans to predict mortality," Shaw said in a statement. "Patients with high calcium scores might be advised by their physicians to adopt healthier lifestyles, which could lead to better outcomes and potentially help lengthen their lives."
Based on these findings, researchers suggest that CAC scanning could help identify patients at risk for early death.
CAC scores have been used to estimate cardiovascular prognosis and all-cause mortality in the short term, "but this study's long-term analysis is unique," according to Shaw.
The findings are detailed in the online edition of Annals of Internal Medicine.
