Vascular calcifications in the mammary gland detected during preventive mammography as a marker of cardiovascular diseases

Socially significant diseases that are important causes of death among women, include cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and breast cancer. In some countries, the implementation of screening programs for early detection of breast cancer helped to reduce the mortality of women from this disease. According to the latest published works, the analysis of vascular calcifications on mammograms makes it possible to assess the presence and severity of subclinical coronary atherosclerosis. The aim of this work was to study the relationship between vascular calcifications in the mammary glands and traditional risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. We also aimed to 95 propose a personalized approach for stratifying the risk of CVD without additional methods requiring radiation or financial costs. Examination of 21 patients with CT-coronarography and digital mammography revealed a statistically significant relationship between the presence of vascular calcifications in the mammary gland and 1) the calcium index in the coronary arteries (p = 0.0028), 2) coronary artery stenosis (p = 0.040), calcification of the thoracic aortic wall (p = 0.035) and 3) visceral stenosis of the abdominal aorta (p = 0.037). Thus, the presence of vascular calcifications in the mammary glands can be included in the protocols of mandatory breast cancer screening programs and used as a potential tool for identifying an increased risk of CVD in practically healthy women.