Prevention & lipidsResearch article
Automated AI-Based Aortic Measurements From Attenuation Correction Computed Tomography (CT) as an Adjunctive Cardiovascular Risk Biomarker: An International Multicenter Study
- International Multicenter Study
- 10 centers
- fully automated
- deep learning
Authors' conclusion
Artificial intelligence can unlock previously unused information within routine myocardial perfusion imaging CT attenuation correction scans by rapidly and automatically quantifying aortic size at scale. Opportunistic aortic measurements derived from CT attenuation correction may serve as an adjunctive risk biomarker and could add prognostic value to standard myocardial perfusion imaging without additional imaging or radiation.
Study context
- Population
- Patients undergoing positron emission tomography/CT and single-photon emission CT/CT myocardial perfusion imagingpatients (56% men, median age, 66 years [interquartile range, 58–75 years])
- Participants
- 29,339 patients
- Comparison
- Elevated aortic size index thresholds and all-cause mortality
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Deaths · median follow-up of 3.5 years (interquartile range, 1.9-5.0 years)
patients died
5083 (17.3%)
Further findings
All-cause mortality, elevated aortic size index
| Comparison | adjusted hazard ratio (95% CI) | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elevated ascending aortic size index · ascending >2.2 cm/m 2 | 1.16 (1.07–1.26) | P < 0.001 | |
| Elevated descending aortic size index · descending >1.6 cm/m 2 | 1.23 (1.14–1.31) | P < 0.001 | |
| 0.512Adjusted hazard ratio (log scale) |
All-cause mortality, elevated aortic size index
- prognostic value of an abnormal aortic size index persisted independent of age, sex, and perfusion abnormalities
Median aortic size index
cm/m 2
- Median ascending aortic size index
- 1.8 (interquartile range, 1.6-2.0)
- Median descending aortic size index
- 1.5 (interquartile range, 1.4-1.6)
- increase with age and higher values in females
Original publication
Automated AI-Based Aortic Measurements From Attenuation Correction CT as an Adjunctive Cardiovascular Risk Biomarker: An International Multicenter Study. Circ Cardiovasc Imaging. Published 2 July 2026. doi:10.1161/circimaging.125.019726
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it