Linking Pulmonary and Cardiac Health: Centrilobular Emphysema as a Predictor of Coronary Artery Calcification Progression

Highlight

1. Progression of centrilobular emphysema (CLE) over nearly two decades is strongly associated with progression of coronary artery calcification (CAC), a marker of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular risk.
2. Paraseptal emphysema (PSE), another emphysema subtype, shows no significant relationship with CAC progression.
3. Detailed emphysema subtyping in lung cancer screening programs can provide prognostic insights beyond pulmonary disease, emphasizing CLE as a systemic inflammatory condition impacting cardiovascular health.
4. These findings reinforce the value of integrating multimorbidity assessments into lung cancer screening to optimize long-term patient management.

Study Background