“Previous work has shown that it is cost effective to do VFA scans in many postmenopausal women to detect vertebral fracture, and prescribe osteoporosis treatment medication when such a vertebral fracture is seen. This study indicates that physicians should use the opportunity of a VFA scan to look for evidence of cardiovascular disease” says lead author, John Schousboe, M.D. of Park Nicollet Health Services in Minneapolis, MN. “This is particularly important in women, since two-thirds of women who died suddenly of coronary heart disease have no prior symptoms.”

“This study found that AAC had a similar predictive strength for cardiovascular disease (CVD) as the Framingham Point score. The Framingham Point score combines the traditional risk factors of total cholesterol, HDL, blood pressure, hypertension treatment and smoking to predict 10-year cardiovascular heart disease risk” says co-author Eugene McCloskey, M.D., of Sheffield University, UK. “Additionally, we found that this predictive ability of AAC was independent of the all of the traditional CVD risk factors we collected in the study.”

“Hologic is committed to improving women’s health. Heart attacks and stroke are the first and third leading causes of death in postmenopausal women. Since bone densitometry is indicated for all women age 65 and older, VFA imaging offers an opportunity to visualize AAC and to capture this important CVD risk factor in post-menopausal women undergoing bone densitometry at very little additional cost” concludes Kevin Wilson, Ph.D. and Scientific Director at Hologic

Hologic, Inc. is a leading developer, manufacturer and supplier of premium diagnostic and medical imaging systems dedicated to serving the healthcare needs of women, and a leading developer of innovative imaging technology for digital radiography and breast imaging. Hologic's core business units are focused on mammography and breast biopsy, osteoporosis assessment, and mini C-arm and extremity MRI imaging for orthopedic applications. For more information visit www.hologic.com.

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