Incidental renal artery calcifications: a study of 350 consecutive abdominal computed tomography scans

Background. Calcifications in arteries are thought to rep-resent atherosclerosis. Methods. Consecutive abdominal tomographic scans per-formed during a 4-month period were evaluated and as-sessed for renal artery calcifications (RAC). Scans that showed calcifications were evaluated for renal artery nar-rowing and for various characteristics of the atherosclerotic plaque. Results. Of 350 consecutive examinees, 43 % were men, 40 % had hypertension and 38 % had hypercholesterolaemia. The age was 61 ± 13 years. Aortic calcifications were found in 54 % and RAC in 102 (29%), of whom 53 had bi-lateral calcifications. Subjects with RAC were older, 72 ± 6 versus 55 ± 12 years. Adjusted odds ratios of RAC were 2.2 (95 % CI 1.1–4.6) for male gender, 2.4 (1.2–4.8) for hypertension and 2.9 (1.4–5.8) for hypercholesterolaemia, whereas family history of hypertension was protective with 0.5 (0.3–0.9). All patients with calcified renal arteries had aortic calcifications, versus 35 % of those without RAC. A significant correlation was found between the severity of calcifications and the degree of renal artery narrowing (r = 0.7), and also between the presence of bilateral calci-fications and a high-grade narrowing. Conclusions. RAC strongly relates to atherosclerosis. Cal-cifications and artery narrowing may have a role in the pathogenesis of hypertension. Bilateral calcifications sug-gest atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis