February is the month when hearts shine everywhere and when medical professionals seek to increase public awareness of everything cardiac. To put it another way, February is American Heart Health Month, making it an excellent opportunity for you to examine your lifestyle and determine what you can change to be more heart-smart this year. A coronary calcium score test, a special kind of X-ray, could be part of your treatment strategy.
What is a coronary calcium scan, and why may your doctor ask for one? You can find the answer to this in this post if you keep reading.
A Brief Overview Of Heart Disease
Did you know that the biggest cause of death in the United States is heart disease? According to the American Heart Association, heart disease—which is frequently preventable—is said to be responsible for one in every four fatalities. Communities and medical experts collaborate to inform the public about the risk factors for cardiovascular illnesses, the signs you should watch out for, and what you can do to maintain heart health during February.
Heart disease signs and symptoms include:
- Chest ache
- Breathlessness
- Extreme numbness or coldness, typically in the hands or feet
- Pain in your limbs, back, neck, or jaw
Before they experience a heart attack, some patients exhibit no symptoms of heart disease. This is why your doctor could decide to request tests like the coronary calcium scan, which evaluates the condition of your heart and arteries.
A Coronary Calcium Scan Is What?
As the name implies, this test searches for a calcium buildup in the coronary arteries, which are medically referred to as the heart’s blood vessels. Because a radiologist determines your risk of having a heart attack by assigning a score to this test, it is occasionally referred to as cardiac calcium scoring.
Calcium doesn’t exist in healthy coronary arteries. A cardiac calcium scoring test uses computed tomography (CT) to obtain images of the heart in small slices and assess whether calcium is present. You are more likely to get a heart attack if your calcium score is high. A moderate score, however, indicates that you can still alter your lifestyle and reduce that risk.
What Justifies A Coronary Calcium Scan?
Even if you are symptom-free, the objective is to determine your risk of having a heart attack. If there are other risk factors: Your doctor may prescribe the test to assist you in making decisions intended to improve your heart health.
- A history of heart disease in the family
- You are a man, and men are more likely to get heart disease.
- Smoking
- A bad diet
- High triglycerides
- Blood pressure problems
- Obesity
- Not enough exercise
- A stressful lifestyle or occupation
- Bad hygiene
Your age could affect your risk of developing heart disease. Your chances of having some plaque in your arteries increase with age.
During A Coronary Calcium Scan, What To Expect?
The radiology technician may ask you to take off your shirt and any jewelry before the test. To monitor your heart, the technician will apply electrodes to your chest and attach them to an EKG. When you’re prepared, the CT scanner will take some photographs while you’re lying down on a table. The entire study is non-invasive and painless, taking around 5 minutes. Since a CT is an X-ray, it exposes you to a very little dosage of radiation, which is not enough to cause any harm.
After the test, a radiologist will review the images and grade the coronary artery calcium content. The results provide your doctor with some information about your heart health, including:
- A score of zero to one indicates cardiac health.
- If your score is over 100, you may have some form of heart disease.
- If your score is between 100 and 400, you are considered to be at medium risk, with a 10 to 20% chance of suffering a heart attack during the following ten years.
- A score of 400 or above alerts your doctor that you require emergency medical attention to avoid a heart attack or stroke.
Cardiac calcium scoring is a reliable indicator of your heart health even if it is not a 100% accurate test.