Mammograms Might Spot Stroke Risk( Calcifications in breast arteries upp...),Health

Calcifications in breast arteries upped chances of cardiovascular trouble, study finds

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 20 (HealthDay News) -- In addition to detecting breast cancer in its early stages, new research suggests that mammograms may also help predict which women are at risk for strokes.

Calcifications found in the blood vessels of the breasts -- what doctors call benign arterial calcifications -- were more commonly found on the mammograms of women who had suffered a stroke, said Dr. Paul S. Dale, chief of surgical oncology at the University of Missouri's Ellis Fischel Cancer Center. He is the lead author of the research, which was expected to be presented Wednesday at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference in New Orleans.

Previous studies, including some by the University of Missouri team, have found a link between these calcifications, which are not cancerous, and the risk of diabetes, heart disease and stroke. But Dale said he believes this latest study has found an even stronger association.

In all, they looked at 793 mammograms of women aged 40 to 90. On the screening mammograms, 86 of the 793 women, or about 10 percent, had the calcifications. But 115 of the 204 women in the group who had had stroke had the calcifications.

"Of those who had a stroke, 56 percent of them had these calcifications on their mammogram, compared to about 10 percent of women in the general population," Paul said. "The important thing here is, we adjusted for age, because age increases your risk of stroke and also of having calcifications on your mammogram."

While the finding is not brand new, it is interesting, said Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, director of Women and Heart Disease at the Heart and Vascular Institute at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. "There have been other studies to show this," she said. "As a cardiologist, I would love this information."

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