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Mammograms can do more than detect breast cancer—they also offer important clues on heart health

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Mammograms can do more than detect breast cancer—they also offer important clues on heart health

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If you're a woman over 40, you have no doubt heard your doctor tell you to get a mammogram as part of routine screening for breast cancer. But there's another reason, too.

A mammogram can show no sign of breast cancer and still reveal something worth discussing with a doctor: calcium deposits in the medium-sized arteries that carry blood to the breast. These calcium deposits may offer a clue to a woman's future heart health.

I'm a cardiologist who studies cardiovascular health around menopause. My colleagues and I have investigated how mammograms might help identify women who are at increased risk of heart disease and stroke. Artificial intelligence now makes these calcium deposits—called breast arterial calcification, or BAC—easier to measure.

In October 2026, Maryland became the first U.S. state to require mammography centers to notify patients in writing if these calcium deposits are found in their mammograms. Other states may institute similar rules soon. Research shows that these calcium deposits are a robust marker for cardiovascular risk, and I expect adoption of this marker to grow.

Here's what women need to know about calcium deposits in the breast—and what they should do if their mammogram shows they have them.

Breast arterial calcification is calcium buildup in the walls of medium-sized arteries that carry blood through the breast. On a mammogram image, the calcium deposits appear as parallel white lines tracing those vessels.


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