The fear of having a heart attack can be overwhelming. Anxiety about heart disease and what causes it can be lowered by taking a proactive stance in your healthcare. Finding out your  coronary calcium score can help your doctor to determine the health of your heart. 

According to the American Heart Association, “Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Coronary artery disease is the most common type of heart disease. The annual estimated cost of heart disease in the United States is $218 billion. A substantial portion of this expense is related to the cost of hospitalizations for interventional cardiology and cardiac surgery”. 

According to the American Medical Association, the death rate for cardiovascular disease, which includes heart disease and stroke, has fallen only four percent since 2011. Compared to a decline of more than 70 percent in the prior 60 years, slow decline has become a crawl. A crawl that is highlighted by increased mortality via cardiovascular disease caused by the obesity epidemic and the related rise of Type 2 Diabetes.

A Coronary Calcium Scan uses computerized tomography (CT) to detect calcium deposits in the coronary arteries of your heart. A higher coronary calcium-score suggests you have a higher chance of significant narrowing in the coronary arteries and a higher risk of future heart attack.

You should consider a calcium scan if you are between ages 40-70 and at increased risk for heart disease but do not have symptoms. People at increased risk include those with the following traits:

• Family history of heart disease
• Past or present smoker
• History of high cholesterol, diabetes or high blood pressure
• Overweight
• Inactive lifestyle
• Other non-traditional risk factors

Medicine is always searching for new tools and ways to combat an increased mortality trend, particularly if the prototypical patient has changed. Your doctor may want to know your coronary calcium score if you have several risk factors for heart disease. This test might be most helpful for people who have no symptoms but who are at medium risk for heart disease.

Medium risk means that you have a 10% to 20% chance of having a heart attack in the next 10 years, based on your risk factors. That translates to 10-20 out of 100 people with this level of risk will have a heart attack within 10 years.

If your doctor thinks that the results of this scan could change your treatment and lower your risk for heart disease, you may receive a recommendation to undergo this non-invasive CT exam.

Contact us today to schedule your Coronary Calcium Score Scan and learn why Capitol Imaging Services is doctor trusted and patient preferred.