Heart 2001;85:13-17 ( January )

Review

Vascular and valvar calcification: recent advances

A Farzaneh-Far, D Proudfoot, C Shanahan, P L Weissberg

Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke's Hospital (ACCI level 6), Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 2QQ, UK

Correspondence to: Dr Farzaneh-Far aff24@cam.ac.uk

Accepted 12 September 2000

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

	Introduction

The last few years have seen a surge of interest in the measurement of coronary artery calcification to predict and monitor the presence of coronary atherosclerosis. In addition, the rising clinical burden of valvar calcification in the aging population has highlighted the importance of understanding the processes of calcification within vascular tissues.

Vascular calcification occurs in both the intima and the media of arteries, and there is evidence that these two sites of calcification are distinct entities (table 1). Intimal calcification only occurs within atherosclerotic plaques and is seen as early as the second decade of life, just after the fatty streak stage.¹ In contrast, medial calcification occurs independently of intimal calcification and atherosclerosis. It commonly occurs in the peripheral arteries of the lower limbs in otherwise healthy elderly patients (Monckeberg's sclerosis), where it is seen as "rail tracking" on plain radiographs. However, it also occurs in younger patients . . . [Full text of this article]

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