Coronary Artery calcium score: Use guide management of Hereditary Coronary Artery Disease (CAUGHT-CAD)

This study is now closed and we are no longer recruiting participants.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) remains a major cause of premature death and disability, and cost-effective primary prevention depends on accurately evaluating CAD risk. Although most new presentations with CAD involve new symptoms (for example, angina), more than 20% of initial presentations are with a sudden catastrophic event such as infarction, stroke or even sudden cardiac death. This spectre has motivated efforts to reduce the risk of individuals without defined disease.

The lifetime risk of CAD is doubled in people with a family history of premature CAD, yet this risk is not captured in most 5 or 10-year risk assessment algorithms. A promising marker of subclinical risk is coronary artery calcium scoring (CCS). However, use of CCS in guiding prevention is not incorporated in Australian guidelines. Definitive evidence of the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of CCS is therefore of primary importance.

This study is the first randomised controlled trial of the use of CCS.
At three years, the effectiveness of intervention will be assessed on change in plaque volume at CT coronary angiography (CTCA), the extent of which has been strongly linked to outcome. The results will provide high-level evidence to inform the guidelines regarding the place of CTCA in risk assessment, specifically in patients with a family history of premature CAD.

Phone:6226 4235
Email: Menzies.CAUGHT@utas.edu.au

Research Groups

Cardio-Metabolic Disease: Cardiovascular Imaging Group

Related Diseases

Cardiovascular Disease

Staff

Team Leaders

Team Members

External Collaborators

  • Professor Gerard Watts - Royal Perth Hospital
  • Professor Steve Nicholls - Royal Adelaide Hospital
  • Associate Professor Omar Farouque - Austin Hospital, Melbourne
  • Associate Professor Tony Stanton - Ipswich Hospital, Brisbane
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