Cardiac Calcium Scoring
Coronary artery disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. When detected early, however, persons affected by coronary artery disease often have better prognoses and outcomes. Northwest Health - La Porte utilizes cardiac calcium scoring to assist with early, life-saving detection.
Cardiac calcium scoring is a noninvasive, painless scanning technology that measures the extent of coronary calcium atherosclerosis (plaque buildup) in the coronary arteries. The 30 minute procedure can help predict coronary events, such as heart attacks.
Cardiac scoring:
- Helps determine the overall extent of coronary atherosclerosis at very early stages, often years before symptoms develop.
- Helps physicians develop appropriate coronary event prevention strategies for patients.
- Reduces the need for additional expensive and invasive tests.
Who should consider a cardiac scoring procedure?
A heart attack can strike anyone, regardless of age or fitness level. There are risk factors that may indicate a predisposition to heart disease. If you are age 40 or older and have one or more of the following risk factors, this test might be beneficial to you.
- Family history of early heart disease, heart attack or stroke
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol
- Are a smoker
- Obesity and/or prolonged inactivity
- Stress
Persons with documented coronary artery disease, however, should not utilize cardiac calcium scoring for scanning purposes, although it may be useful in some circumstances under the guidance of a physician.
What to Expect During the Exam
Patients pass fully clothed through an ultrafast CT scanner that produces images of the coronary arteries and/or lungs. Patients are asked to lie very still while the scan is being performed and are instructed to hold their breath. This test is completely noninvasive and painless and does not require injection of contrast material, although very low amounts of radiation are used to produce the images.
Fasting before the test is not necessary, but patients should not consume caffeine for up to four hours prior to the scan. Patients are encouraged to discuss the benefits of the procedure with their physician prior to a scan as well as discuss their results afterwards.