Abstract P522: Breast Arterial Calcification Predicts Heart Failure Across Racial and Ethnic Groups

Introduction: Breast arterial calcification (BAC), which can be seen on mammograms, is emerging as a risk stratification tool for cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcomes including heart failure, though how prediction varies by race and ethnicity is unknown. Methods: This single-center, retrospective study included 18,092 women age ≥40 years who had a digital mammogram between 2008-2016 and clinical follow-up through 2019. BAC was quantified using an automated algorithm (CureMetrix), resulting in a continuous Bradley score. Heart failure (HF) events and self-reported race and ethnicity were obtained via medical records. Adjusted hazard ratios (aHR) were calculated using Cox proportional hazard regression models with interaction terms to evaluate the effect of race and ethnicity on the association between BAC (presence/absence; or Bradley score quartile among those with BAC) with incident HF, adjusted for age, diabetes, smoking, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and history of CVD and chronic kidney disease. Results: Mean age was 57±11 years with 11,319 (63%) of women White, 907 (5%) Black, 1,694 (9%) Hispanic, 2,321 (13%) Asian, and 1,851 (10%) Other. Over a median follow-up of 3.0 years, 149 of the 4,076 women with BAC (3.7%) developed HF compared to 149 of the 14,016 women without BAC (1.1%). Presence of BAC was associated with incident HF (aHR 1.38, 95% CI 1.21-1.58, p<0.001) overall and among all racial and ethnic groups, with increased risk seen for increasing quartiles of Bradley score (aHR 1.17 in the first, 1.30 in the second, 1.79 in the third, 1.69 in the fourth; p-trend<0.001). The presence of BAC was an even stronger predictor of HF in Black women compared to White women ( Figure ; aHR 1.51 [1.00-2.30], p interaction=0.05). Conclusions: The presence and degree of BAC on a mammogram is an independent predictor of HF and may serve as an especially strong risk factor among Black women.