CAC-WOMEN TRIAL

The Coronary Artery Calcium Scoring in Women with Novel Cardiovascular Risk Factors Trial

The purpose of the CAC-Women Trial is to determine the incidence of coronary artery disease in women with female specific risk factors.

You may be eligible….

If you are female, aged 40 – 65 and have a history of:

diabetes during pregnancy (gestational diabetes) or
high blood pressure or pre-eclampsia during pregnancy or
early menopause (under the age of 44 years)

Or are of Aboriginal/Torres Striat Islander background (aged 35 – 65).

Participation includes two study visits to our Curtin clinic rooms over 6 months, and a calcium score scan at a local radiology facility. Those identified as having an elevated calcium score will be reviewed by a cardiologist.

A coronary artery calcium (CAC) score, obtained from a simple, quick and low-dose CT scan, provides individualised cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk assessment. and can be used to detect heart disease before any symptoms have developed.

The absence of coronary calcium (CAC=0) confers an extremely low risk of CVD, while an abnormal result (CAC>1) is the single best predictor of future cardiac events – even more so in women than men. A calcium score is a powerful way to improve primary prevention of heart disease in Australian women, particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women.

This is a large national study funded by The Heart Foundation and led by Associate Professor Sarah Zaman, a cardiologist from University of Sydney and Westmead Hospital.

Western Australian recruitment is being led by Professor Christopher Reid (Curtin University) Dr Abdul Ihdayhid (Fiona Stanley Hospital and Curtin University) and Dr David Playford (Advara HeartCare)

For further information, please contact the Curtin team via mobile on 0466 567 788 or click here.

Curtin University Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) has approved this study (HREC number 2023-0518)