February is Heart Month, a great time to schedule an easy, no-cost test to learn more about your heart health.
University Hospitals Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute at UH Portage Medical Center is one of nearly 20 locations across Northeast Ohio offering no-cost calcium scoring.
Calcium scoring is a computerized tomography (CT or CAT) scan of the heart. It’s a non-invasive diagnostic procedure that helps predict a person’s risk of heart attack in the next 10 years by measuring the amount of calcium present in the heart arteries. Calcium is a marker of coronary artery disease, the major cause of heart attacks.
Coronary artery disease, also known as coronary atherosclerosis, is the most common cause of heart attack. Atherosclerosis is the buildup of fatty deposits, or plaque, in the arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle. Plaque can build up in the blood vessels and explode, causing a sudden narrowing that blocks blood flow to the heart and causes a heart attack.
Calcium is one of the ingredients in those fatty deposits. An individual’s calcium score correlates with the amount of plaque. The more plaque, as measured by the calcium score, the higher the heart attack risk.
What’s It All About?
Calcium scoring is one of the easiest diagnostic tests available. It’s fast – it takes just five to 10 minutes to complete. It doesn’t require an intravenous line or the use of any dyes. You will simply lie inside a CT machine while the scanner creates an image of your heart arteries. You can wear street clothes during the test, and it’s so fast many people have it done on their lunch hour.
Within a couple of days, your referring physician will have the results. Scores range from 0 –no calcium deposits detected – to 400 or more. A score of 0 means your risk of having a heart attack in the next 10 years is extremely low. The higher the score, the higher the risk.
Depending on the results, your physician may recommend lifestyle changes to reduce your heart attack risk, such as diet changes, exercising or losing weight. Some people may also need medication, and you may be referred to a cardiologist for further evaluation. A calcium score over 400 is considered high risk and may warrant additional testing.
Who Should Have Calcium Scoring?
UH Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute doctors recommend calcium scoring for men age 45 or older and women age 55 or older who do not have a history of coronary artery disease but have one or more risk factors for heart disease. These include:
- High total blood cholesterol
- Low HDL cholesterol (the good one)
- High blood pressure (blood pressure higher than 130/80)
- Cigarette smoking
- Type 2 diabetes
- A family history of heart disease
The test also is recommended for anyone age 40 or older who has a chronic inflammatory condition, including inflammatory bowel disease, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis or psoriasis.
UH is the only health system offering the test at no cost to eligible patients. To arrange for a calcium scoring test at a location near your home or work, you or your doctor can call UH Radiology Patient Access at 216-844-1700. A physician order is required for scheduling.
Dr. Anjan Gupta, is the Director of Interventional Cardiology at University Hospitals Portage Medical Center. His office can be reached at 330-297-6110
