New research suggests that a simple heart scan can identify a person's risk for early death, HealthDay reported.

Researchers at Emory University found that coronary artery calcification (CAC) scans could help physicians identify patients at risk for premature death.

"If you had no calcium or very small amounts, we were able to track over a very long time that you actually had a very outstanding survival," Leslee Shaw, who led the study, told HealthDay. 

CAC is an x-ray test that looks for specks of calcium in the walls of the coronary arteries.  These specks of calcium are an early sign of coronary artery disease.

For the study, researchers collected and accessed CAC scores and risk factor data taken from more than 9,700 volunteers between the years 1996 and 1999.  They were scanned as part a community-outreach screening program at an outpatient clinic in Nashville, and showed no symptoms of coronary artery disease at the time of the scans.

They found that the CAC score accurately predicted all-cause premature deaths up to 15 years in the asymptomatic patients.

"These findings give us a better understanding of the importance of coronary calcium scans to predict mortality," Shaw said in a statement. "Patients with high calcium scores might be advised by their physicians to adopt healthier lifestyles, which could lead to better outcomes and potentially help lengthen their lives."

Based on these findings, researchers suggest that CAC scanning could help identify patients at risk for early death.

CAC scores have been used to estimate cardiovascular prognosis and all-cause mortality in the short term, "but this study's long-term analysis is unique," according to Shaw.

The findings are detailed in the online edition of Annals of Internal Medicine.