Baptist Health's video: Lynn Women s Institute is Setting the Standard for Detecting Risk of Heart Disease in Mammograms

A finding of breast artery calcifications on a mammogram is a potentially vital signal that a woman undergoing breast cancer screening is at risk for cardiovascular disease. The Schmidt Family Center for Breast Care at Christine E. Lynn Women’s Health and Wellness Institute, part of Baptist Health, has made the protocol of identifying breast artery calcifications a standard service, which is unique to South Florida and most mammography centers nationwide. About 40 percent of breast cancers present with calcifications in breast tissue. Breast imagers (specialized radiologists) can easily differentiate calcifications related to breast disease from those in the breast arteries. Arterial calcifications refer to calcium build-up within the middle layer of the breast’s arterial wall. It can be related to aging, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and can be a marker of artery stiffening reflecting cardiovascular disease.