Calcium scoring is set to play a bigger role in the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease following National Heart Foundation backing for its use as an adjunct to absolute risk calculation.

The diagnostic tool, already widely used in the US, will be valuable for GPs with patients uncertain about being prescribed statin therapy, the peak body says.

Its long-awaited position statement provides guidance for doctors on when to consider CT coronary artery calcium (CAC) scoring and which patients stand to benefit the most.

But the guidance, published in the Medical Journal of Australia this week, stressed the importance of shared decision-making, noting CAC involves a radiation dose and an average out-of-pocket cost of $250 in the absence of public funding.