Vascular Calcification
Recent clinical, regulatory, research and industry developments relating to this disease.
Osteopontin/SPP1: a potential mediator between immune cells and vascular calcification.
Prevalence of Subclinical Coronary Artery Atherosclerosis in the General Population.
What's happening now
An analyst briefing on current research, clinical, regulatory and industry activity surrounding this disease.
- 1 clinical trial expected to report results, the earliest in Q2 2032.
- Active recent publication activity.
Research HighlightsViewHide
Clinical MilestonesViewHide
- 2025-10-16ResearchOpportunistic Detection of Coronary Artery Calcium on Noncardiac Chest Computed Tomography: An Emerging Tool for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association.Foraker R · 2025
- 2025-08-07ClinicalComparison of Intensive Lipid-Lowering Therapy With a Statin-Ezetimibe Combination (Without Aspirin) vs. Statin Monotherapy (With Aspirin) In Asymptomatic Patient With Coronary Artery CalcificationResults expected Q2 2032
Clinical trials
The current development programme across all trial phases.
Research activity
Key research shaping understanding of this disease, combining the latest publications with the most influential evidence.
Major themes8
- Vascular Calcification4
- Cardiovascular Diseases2
- Computed Tomography Angiography2
- Aorta, Abdominal1
- Aorta, Thoracic1
- Coronary Angiography1
- Coronary Artery Disease1
- Coronary Vessels1
Leading journals4
- Circulation3
- Frontiers in immunology2
- Arteriosclerosis, thrombosis, and vascular biology1
- European heart journal1
Leading researchers8
- Aboyans V1
- Adamson PD1
- Adiels M1
- Ahlström H1
- Aikawa E1
- Alam S1
- Alfredsson J1
- Allmen RS1
Affiliations (unnormalised)6
- and Clinical Genetics1
- and Uppsala Clinical Research Center (E.H.)1
- Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre1
- Center for Excellence in Vascular Biology (E.A.)1
- Center for Health and Performance (M.B.)1
- Center for Interdisciplinary Cardiovascular Sciences (M.E.T.1
Related conditions
Diseases frequently studied alongside this one. Number shows shared papers.
Disease profile
A grounded synthesis of the condition — overview, causes, mechanism, risk factors and current standard of care.
Vascular calcification is the deposition of calcium within blood vessel structures. It is a common pathological process in vascular disease and is associated with atherosclerotic plaque formation, chronic kidney disease, and increased vascular stiffness.
The grounding supports chronic kidney disease and hyperphosphatemia as important associated causes or contributors. It also links vascular calcification to atherosclerotic plaque development and to inflammatory processes in heart disease.
The process involves calcium deposition in vessel walls and is tied to vascular stiffness. The literature also describes immune involvement, including macrophages, activated lymphocytes, and SPP1/osteopontin-mediated signaling in atherosclerotic plaques and calcification-related inflammation. Phosphate handling and elevated serum phosphate are implicated in the molecular mechanisms that promote cardiovascular calcification.
Chronic kidney disease and impaired kidney function are supported risk factors. Elevated serum phosphate, including hyperphosphatemia, is associated with increased cardiovascular risk and is linked to vascular calcification. Atherosclerotic disease and subclinical coronary artery calcium are also associated with higher cardiovascular risk.
The grounding supports imaging-based detection and risk stratification, especially coronary artery calcium measurement on noncontrast cardiac CT and opportunistic detection on non-ECG-gated chest CT. These findings can inform preventive treatment allocation in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk assessment. No specific therapeutic modality for reversing vascular calcification is supported in the supplied material.
AI-generated summary grounded in MeSH and 3 peer-reviewed sources. Informational only — not medical advice. Generated 2026-07-07.
Reference
Authoritative identity, definition & identifiers.
Deposition of calcium into the blood vessel structures. Excessive calcification of the vessels is associated with ATHEROSCLEROTIC PLAQUES formation particularly after MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION (see MONCKEBERG MEDIAL CALCIFIC SCLEROSIS) and chronic kidney diseases which in turn increase VASCULAR STIFFNESS.
- Disease identity & definition — NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), public domain
- Clinical trials — ClinicalTrials.gov (U.S. National Library of Medicine)
- Research activity — Europe PMC (EMBL-EBI) + OpenAlex-derived paper links
- Related entities are derived from literature co-mention (studied together) — associative, not causal.