Scientists have identified the most life-threatening symptom

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High levels of calcium in the coronary arteries in middle age are associated with serious heart failure in the future.

American scientists came to this conclusion, according to a press release on EurekAlert!. 2,449 young and middle-aged people participated in the study.

It is noted that using tomographic scanning, experts assessed the condition of the blood vessels of volunteers, including the level of accumulation of calcified plaques in the coronary arteries. These plaques contain not only calcium, but also fat and cholesterol, so an increased content of the latter in the blood contributes to the narrowing of blood vessels and reduced blood flow.

The plaque accumulation index (CAI) was assessed in the 15th and 25th years of the study, when the average age of the participants had already reached 50 years. At the same time, the proportion of volunteers with zero CAI decreased by 5% over the decade. An increase in the level of calcified plaques correlated with age, increased systolic blood pressure, cholesterol content, the presence of diabetes and smoking.

In addition, it turned out that with high CAI, there was a thickening and increase in the size of the left ventricle, regardless of other factors. Such changes lead to the fact that the heart is forced to work harder to pump blood, and the risk of life-threatening heart failure increases.