Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) is the #1 cause of death in the United States. This year alone, 650,000 Americans will have a new coronary attack and 450,000 Americans will have a recurrent heart attack. CHD caused more than 1 out of every 5 deaths in the US in 2000, accounting for 681,000 lives lost. Coronary heart disease is caused by narrowing or closure of the arteries that feed the heart itself. This narrowing is due to deposits of cholesterol and calcium that build up over time along the inside lining of the arteries (a process known as atherosclerosis).
Coronary Artery Calcium Scoring is a method used to detect calcium deposits in the coronary arteries. Advanced multi-detector CT (MDCT) scanners, such as the unit at Clifton Park Advanced Imaging, can accurately measure these calcium deposits. The amount of calcium detected by multi-detector CT scanning is related to the amount of underlying coronary atherosclerosis. The coronary calcium score, derived from these scans of the coronary arteries, is known to predict the occurrence of cardiac events, such as fatal and nonfatal heart attacks. A suspicious CT Coronary Artery Calcium Score could also point your doctor in the direction of further diagnostic testing, perhaps allowing for timely coronary artery bypass surgery or treatment with specialized expanding balloons introduced into the coronary arteries (coronary angioplasty). In this way, you and your doctor might hope to treat coronary atherosclerosis before actual heart muscle damage occurs. On the other hand, a negative calcium score implies a very low risk for obstructing coronary artery disease, allowing everyone to rest easier.
The Coronary Artery Calcium Scoring examination utilizes a multi-detector CT scanner that is capable of rapid, sub-second data acquisition, producing a number of very thin sections through the heart. Calcium in the wall of the coronary arteries appears as a whitish streak, and a computerized measurement determines your calcium score. The test is fast, typically just 10 minutes, and completely painless. It is non-invasive, which means there are no injections, dyes, or needles.
Prior to scheduling a coronary calcium screening CT at Clifton Park Advanced Imaging, we require that you obtain a referral from your primary care physician, internist, or cardiologist. This requirement ensures that you will obtain the quickest and best informed treatment, should the examination detect coronary artery disease.
Since Coronary Artery Calcium Scoring is a screening test, you will want to check with your medical insurance company to determine whether the examination will be considered a covered service under your policy. Should your insurer not provide reimbursement for Coronary Artery Calcium Scoring, it will be necessary to pay for the test from your own funds. Rest assured that Clifton Park Advanced Imaging has carefully considered the financial impact of coronary screening, and offers the service at a reasonable cost. Should you wish to discuss financial arrangements with us ahead of time, please do not hesitate to telephone Clifton Park Advanced Imaging at (518) 688-1177.
Helpful links:
Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
http://brighamrad.harvard.edu/patients/education/ct/ctguideheart.htm
Coronary Artery Calcifications in Women http://www.ctisus.com/organsys/chest/syllabus/FEMALECALCIUM.html
Coronary Artery Disease Diagnosis
http://www.heartinformation.com/forpatients/diagnosis.asp?pa=true
Radiology Medical Group, San Diego, California
http://www.rmgimaging.com/arteryscoring.html