However, researchers involved in this study say that EBCT still should not be used as a stand-alone method for diagnosing coronary artery disease, but rather as a complement to other diagnostic information. But doctors have to use this information in addition to everything else they know about their patients. Although the specificity of the test in this study was higher than previously reported in other research, the study authors do not advocate using the test for mass screening at this time. Specificity is the likelihood that the test result will be negative in a patient without narrowed coronary arteries. When the coronary arteries, blood vessels that supply blood to the heart, are narrowed by plaque they can become blocked, causing a heart attack.
Chest pain is one symptom of atherosclerosis.
In general, the higher the number and density of these calcium deposits, the more extensive the atherosclerosis. However, the study explained that there is not a one to one relationship between calcium deposits and coronary artery disease. Those studies estimated that the specificity of any calcium on EBCT was less than 50 percent. This study found the specificity to be about 70 percent. Researchers from the Mayo Clinic examined the results of EBCT scans from 213 individuals who complained of chest pain or tightness, and 765 individuals who did not have symptoms of atherosclerosis.