Techniques and technologies to assess vascular calcification

Cardiovascular calcification (CV) is highly prevalent in chronic kidney disease stage V and has been associated with an increased risk for all-cause as well as cardiovascular mortality. A number of noninvasive imaging techniques are available to screen for the presence of CV-plain x-rays of the abdomen and extremities to identify macroscopic calcifications of aorta and peripheral arteries; echocardiography for assessment of valvular calcification; two-dimensional ultrasound for calcification of carotid arteries, femoral arteries and aorta, and computed tomography technologies that constitute the gold standard for quantification of coronary artery and aorta calcification. Some of these modalities are also useful to monitor calcification progression and to assess the effect of different therapeutic strategies directed at modifying calcification progression. In this article we review the strengths and limitations of the most common noninvasive techniques employed for the imaging of vascular calcification.