Mammo+Heart

Now your mammogram can give you insight into both your breast and heart health. 

Supported by USHV, a leading national provider of cardiovascular services.

With heart disease and breast cancer being some of the leading causes of death in women, we're on a mission to give you more lifesaving insight into your health.

Mammo+Heart AI screening software* can detect breast arterial calcification when used in parallel with screening mammography. 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 in the breast has been linked to an increased risk for cardiovascular disease in women, as indicated in a 2019 article in Circulation, a journal for the American Heart Association, which is cited here: https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.118.038092 And according to a November 2024 article in JACC: Advances, which is cited here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacadv.2024.101283.

Take advantage of what your mammogram plus additional screening can tell you about your heart. Opt in at the time of your appointment.

Mammo+Heart is available at select centers. You may opt in at the time of your appointment.

Columbus, OH

Greensboro, NC

Phoenix, AZ

South Florida

Patient FAQs
What is this new screening?

Mammo+Heart is an AI screening tool for asymptomatic women between the ages of 40 and 89. It is intended to detect the presence or absence of breast arterial calcification in parallel with breast screening mammography. It is not intended to be a diagnostic test; however it is an indication of possible cardiovascular risk and may require patient action, according to a JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging article published in 2016, which is cited here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1936878X16000164?via%3Dihub

Is this new screening FDA approved?

Yes, the breast arterial calcification detection and localization software that Solis Mammography uses is FDA cleared.

Why is breast arterial calcification important?

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,” as reported in the Journal of Breast Imaging, cited here: https://doi.org/10.1093/jbi/wbad063. Patients with this finding may be candidates for additional cardiovascular screening by their primary care physician or cardiologist.

How is it detected on a mammogram?

Mammo+Heart AI software reads mammography images to help the interpreting radiologist determine the presence or absence of breast arterial calcification. An expert radiologist will review and sign off on these results.

Is there research that validates Breast Arterial Calcification risks?

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/

When will I get my results?

Your breast arterial calcification results will be delivered via secure email, typically within a few business days.

If breast arterial calcification is present on my mammogram, what do I do next?

We recommend that you consult with your primary care physician to determine if further cardiac evaluation is appropriate after receiving your Mammo+Heart screening result.

If I don’t have it, does that mean I don’t have coronary artery disease?

The absence of breast arterial calcification is not a final diagnosis relating to the absence of coronary heart disease. The presence of other signs or symptoms should be discussed with your primary care physician. We recommend that you consult with your primary care physician to determine if further cardiac evaluation is appropriate after receiving your Mammo+Heart screening result.

Want to learn more?

See the following citations for more clinical insight into breast arterial calcification and its association with cardiovascular risk.

*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.