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Health·G Space·Evidence-backed gain·Published 2026-09-01

[Breast arterial calcifications and cardiovascular risk in women]

Abstract: Cardiovascular (CV) diseases remain the leading cause of mortality in women and often present as the first clinical manifestation, highlighting the limitations of current risk scores. In this context, breast arterial calcifications (BACs), incidentally detected on screening mammography, are emerging as a potential biomarker of systemic CV risk. This narrative review summarizes the most recent evidence (2023-2026) on the association between BACs and CV outcomes, including observational studies, prospective and re…

TRV-2026-0954Peer-reviewedPermanent record — cite & verify
[Breast arterial calcifications and cardiovascular risk in women]

Developing Intervention Strategies for Breast Cancer Screening: A Self Study Guide for Program Planners by Halvorson, H.;Coyne, C.. Public domain

The quick read

This narrative review examined recent evidence on breast arterial calcifications found incidentally on screening mammography as a potential biomarker of systemic cardiovascular risk in women. It covered observational studies, cohorts, meta-analyses, and studies using artificial intelligence for automated quantification of calcific burden.

The findings suggest BACs could serve as an opportunistic tool for cardiovascular risk re-stratification, especially in young women and those at low to intermediate risk, but it remains unclear whether they add value beyond SCORE2 and SCORE2-OP. Prospective studies are still needed to define clinical integration.

Main points
  • Narrative review of 2023-2026 evidence on BACs and cardiovascular outcomes including observational cohorts, meta-analyses, and AI quantification studies.
  • BACs are relatively common in screened populations and independently associated with increased risk of stroke, heart failure, atherosclerotic disease, and cardiovascular mortality.
  • Meta-analyses suggest predominantly arteriosclerotic phenotype of vascular calcification.
Gain

Artificial intelligence-based algorithms improve quantification of breast arterial calcifications detected on screening mammography and strengthen their prognostic value for cardiovascular risk in women.

The rundown

The review synthesizes observational, prospective and retrospective cohorts and meta-analyses from 2023-2026, noting BACs are incidentally detected on screening mammography and relatively common.

It reports independent association of BACs with major cardiovascular events and cardiovascular mortality, and highlights AI-based algorithms as improving calcific burden quantification.

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