Prevalence of Carotid Artery Calcification Detected on Panoramic Radiographs of Patients with a History of Hypertension or Myocardial Infarction

Atherosclerosis is characterized by the deposition of lipids on the internal walls of blood vessels, damaging various tissues of the body by complete or partial occlusion of the vessels. Sometimes the calcified plaques in the carotid artery can be detected on panoramic radiographs, helping the practitioners decrease the risk of Cerebrovascular Accident (CAV).

This study aimed to assess the frequency of Carotid Artery Calcification (CAC) detected in panoramic radiographs of patients with hypertension or myocardial infarction.

A total of 400 panoramic radiographs of patients >40 years of age were evaluated. The images belonged to patients with a history of hypertension or myocardial infarction and healthy individuals referred from the AL Zahra Cardiology Department to Isfahan School of Dentistry and a private oral and maxillofacial imaging center. All the images were evaluated for the presence of CAC. Data were analyzed with SPSS 19, using the Chi-squared test, Fisher's exact test, t-test and ANOVA (α=0.05).

The prevalence rate of CAC was 4%. According to the results, there was a significant relationship between CAC and hypertension (P=0.003), with no significant relationship between the prevalence of these lesions, stage of hypertension and myocardial infarction.

According to the results, the prevalence of CAC on panoramic radiographs was significant; therefore, it seems that the detection of CAC on panoramic radiographs of patients must be considered by dentists.