UMMS Affiliation
UMass Worcester Prevention Research Center; Department of Medicine, Division of Preventive and Behavioral Medicine
Publication Date
2017-10-27
Document Type
Article
Disciplines
Behavioral Medicine | Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms | Cardiology | Cardiovascular Diseases | Community Health | Community Health and Preventive Medicine | Preventive Medicine | Women's Health
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Among women aged 50 to 59 years at baseline in the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) Estrogen-Alone (E-Alone) trial, randomization to conjugated equine estrogen-alone versus placebo was associated with lower risk of myocardial infarction and mortality, and, in an ancillary study, the WHI-CACS (WHI Coronary Artery Calcification Study) with lower CAC, measured by cardiac computed tomography approximately 8.7 years after baseline randomization. We hypothesized that higher CAC would be related to post-trial coronary heart disease (CHD), cardiovascular disease (CVD), and total mortality, independent of baseline randomization or risk factors.
METHODS AND RESULTS: WHI-CACS participants (n=1020) were followed approximately 8 years from computed tomography scan in 2005 (mean age=64.4) through 2013 for incident CHD (myocardial infarction and fatal CHD, n=17), CVD (n=69), and total mortality (n=55). Incident CHD and CVD analyses excluded women with CVD before scan (n=89). Women with CAC=0 (n=54%) had very low age-adjusted rates/1000 person-years of CHD (0.91), CVD (5.56), and mortality (3.45). In comparison, rates were approximately 2-fold higher for women with any CAC ( > 0). Associations were not modified by baseline randomization to conjugated equine estrogen-alone versus placebo. Adjusted for baseline randomization and risk factors, the hazard ratio (95% confidence interval) for CAC > 100 (19%) was 4.06 (2.11, 7.80) for CVD and 2.70 (1.26, 5.79) for mortality.
CONCLUSIONS: Among a subset of postmenopausal women aged 50 to 59 years at baseline in the WHI E-Alone Trial, CAC at mean age of 64 years was strongly related to incident CHD, CVD, and to total mortality over approximately 8 years, independent of baseline randomization to conjugated equine estrogen-alone versus placebo or CVD risk factors.
CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT00000611.
Keywords
cardiovascular disease, coronary artery calcification, hormonal therapy, mortality, women
Rights and Permissions
© 2017 The Authors. Published on behalf of the American Heart Association, Inc., by Wiley. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution‐NonCommercial‐NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non‐commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.
DOI of Published Version
10.1161/JAHA.117.006887
Source
J Am Heart Assoc. 2017 Oct 27;6(11). pii: e006887. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.117.006887. Link to article on publisher's site
Journal/Book/Conference Title
Journal of the American Heart Association
Related Resources
PubMed ID
29079563
Repository Citation
Poornima IG, Mackey RH, Allison MA, Manson JE, Carr JJ, LaMonte MJ, Chang Y, Kuller LH, WHI and WHI‐CAC Study Investigators, Ockene JK. (2017). Coronary Artery Calcification (CAC) and Post-Trial Cardiovascular Events and Mortality Within the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) Estrogen-Alone Trial. UMass Worcester PRC Publications. https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.117.006887. Retrieved from https://escholarship.umassmed.edu/prc_pubs/88
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Included in
Behavioral Medicine Commons, Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms Commons, Cardiology Commons, Cardiovascular Diseases Commons, Community Health Commons, Community Health and Preventive Medicine Commons, Preventive Medicine Commons, Women's Health Commons
Comments
Judith Ockene is a Women’s Health Initiative Coronary-Artery Calcium Study Investigator.