Now your mammogram can give you insight into both your breast and heart health.
With heart disease and breast cancer being the leading causes of death in women, we're on a mission to give you more lifesaving insight into your health through one exam.
With Mammo+Heart AI screening software*, we can help identify your cardiovascular risk by detecting the presence of breast arterial calcification on your mammogram. Breast arterial calcification is a calcium build up in the arteries of the breast. As calcium deposits form, the vessel wall becomes stiffer and less elastic and can lead to increased pressure on the heart as it works to pump blood through the vessels. The presence of calcified arteries has been linked to an increased risk for cardiovascular disease in women.
Take advantage of what your mammogram can tell you about your heart health. Opt in at the time of your appointment.
Mammo+Heart is an AI screening tool for asymptomatic women between the ages of 40 and 89 that is performed during a regular mammogram. It provides accurate and reliable detection of breast arterial calcification. It is not intended to be a diagnostic test; however it is an indication of possible cardiovascular risk and may require patient action.
Yes, the breast arterial calcification detection and localization software that Miami Breast Institute uses is FDA approved.
There is “strong evidence for an association between BAC (breast arterial calcification) and coronary artery disease, heart failure, stroke, peripheral arterial disease, and increased risk of cardiovascular death.”1 Patients with this finding may be candidates for additional cardiovascular screening by their primary care physician or cardiologist.
Mammo+Heart AI software reads mammography images to determine the presence or absence of breast arterial calcification. An expert radiologist will review and sign off on these results.
Yes, multiple clinical studies have found significant correlation between the presence of breast arterial calcification and cardiovascular disease. One such study noted that women who had breast arterial calcification present on their mammogram were 51% more likely to develop heart disease or have a stroke compared with women who did not have breast arterial calcification. https://newsroom.heart.org/news/mammograms-may-provide-clues-about-womens-risk-for-cardiovascular-disease
Another study on the relationship between breast arterial calcifications on mammograms and cardiovascular events stated that cardiovascular mortality increased by 40% in women with breast arterial calcification compared to women without it, reaching 90% in diabetic women. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9776346/
Your breast arterial calcification results will be delivered via secure email, typically within a few business days.
We recommend that you consult with your primary care physician to determine if further cardiac evaluation is appropriate.
The absence of breast arterial calcification is not a guarantee that you do not have heart disease. The presence of other signs or symptoms should override your Mammo+Heart screening result.
If breast arterial calcification is present, we recommend you repeat the screening every two years. If it is not present, we recommend you have the screening performed every year with your annual mammogram.
You may opt in at the time of your mammogram appointment. A doctor’s order is not required.
Like many new healthcare products, Mammo+Heart is not currently covered by insurance. It has an out-of-pocket cost of $119, which may be paid for with your HSA or FSA account.
For more information, please call (833) 223-6661.
*Mammo+Heart uses cmAngio®, an FDA-Cleared Artificial Intelligence (AI) based detection software, to identify the presence or absence of breast arterial calcification (BAC) as an incidental finding in FFDM and DBT screening mammograms. The finding indicates whether calcium buildup is present in the breast arterial wall. BAC has been associated with a higher risk of coronary heart or cardiovascular disease, but the presence or absence of BAC alone is not a diagnosis for coronary heart or cardiovascular disease or determinative of a patient’s risk for coronary heart or cardiovascular disease. Results from Mammo+Heart may be used for further patient management at the discretion of a primary care physician, cardiologist, or specialist. If BAC is detected, please consult your primary care physician, a cardiologist, or specialist for further information on diagnosis and treatment.
1* Nina S Vincoff, Aderonke A Ramos, Elizabeth Duran-Pilarte, Alicia Derobertis, Woodlynn A Daniel, Bakhtawar N Bajwa, MPH, Eric Petrone, BA, Myriam Kline, Donatella M Pavel, Stacey E Rosen, Patient Notification About Breast Arterial Calcification on Mammography: Empowering Women With Information About Cardiovascular Risk, Journal of Breast Imaging, 2023;, wbad063, https://doi.org/10.1093/jbi/wbad063.