By Joy Pierce Mathews for Summit Medical Group

 
About Cardiac Calcium Scoring
Also known as coronary artery calcium scoring, cardiac calcium scoring uses a special X-ray test called computed tomography (CT) to detect calcium that lines walls of the arteries of the heart (coronary arteries).

Advantages of coronary calcium scoring are that it is:

• Quick, taking only about 10 minutes
• Painless
• Highly accurate in determining the stage and severity of heart disease

One of its greatest benefits of cardiac calcium scoring is that it can detect heart disease in people who are at risk for a heart attack but have no symptoms. If you have silent heart disease, cardiac calcium scoring can help prevent a heart attack and even save your life!  
 

If you're interested in knowing whether you have heart disease and are at risk for a heart attack,
call us today at 908-277-8709
to schedule an appointment for cardiac calcium scoring.
Summit Medical Group Cardiology offers cardiac calcium scoring for $199.

Summ ...Heart Disease Facts 
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States. It involves the build up of substances (often referred to as plaque) such as fat, calcium, cholesterol, cell waste, and fibrin on the walls of arteries. Eventually, plaque slows or stops blood flow to the heart. Heart disease is also known as coronary heart disease, coronary artery disease, and arteriosclerotic disease.

Narrowed arteries can cause chest pain (angina) and shortness of breath in some people. In some cases, it can cause a heart attack. But some people can have heart disease and risk for heart attack without having symptoms.

Your cardiologist will decide whether you should have cardiac calcium scoring based on your risk factors.

Risk factors for heart disease:

• Age-being age 45 or older if you are a man and age 55 or older if you are a woman
• Family history
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol level
• Having diabetes
• Whether you smoke
• Being overweight or obese
• Eating an unhealthy diet
• Being inactive
• Being stressed

Most people who have heart disease have more than 1 risk factor. Compared with other risks, certain things like smoking and diabetes increase the odds for heart disease. If you have risks for or symptoms of heart disease, be sure to see your doctor and ask if you should be tested with cardiac calcium scoring. If your test shows you have heart disease, your cardiologist can teach you about lifestyle changes that can lower your risk for heart disease, heart attack, and other heart problems.  If lifestyle changes aren't enough, your cardiologist might prescribe medication to lower your risk for heart attack.

Steps you can take to lower your risk for heart disease and heart attack:

• Maintain a health weight
• Eat a low-fat diet
• Be active
• Don't smoke
• Maintain healthy blood sugar

Data show that people who have a low risk for heart disease live up to 10 years longer on average than people at high risk for heart disease.

For more information about our full range of cardiology services
or to schedule an appointment with one of our board-certified cardiologists,
please call Summit Medical Group Cardiology at 908-273-4300.