This year quite a few celebrities have died from a heart attack, and one has to wonder if had these celebrities known their calcium score and had taken measures to arrest or reverse their heart disease, would they be alive today.
Fact is, most people have never, and will never, have a calcium score test done. This includes the rich and famous. Heart disease killed over 616,000 Americans in 2008 (the most recent year that statistics are available).
The most common type of heart disease is that of the coronary arteries (coronary artery disease, or CAD), and this can lead to heart attacks, chronic chest pain and shortness of breath (angina), heart failure, stroke and abnormal cardiac rhythms.
It is vital to take the proper steps to monitor heart health, before a problem develops,” says cardiologist Michael Pressel, MD, of the Heart Center at Sinai in Baltimore, Maryland, in an interview with Helene King from LifeBridge Health.
“An effective way to do this is with a calcium scoring screening, a non-invasive, painless test that, along with other indicators, presents an overview of an individual’s heart health.”
This test, which uses the CT scanner (CAT scan), detects calcium deposits in the coronary arteries – in the three most major arteries, not all of the arteries.
Calcium deposits strongly correlate with plaque buildup (blockages), and of course, plaque correlates to heart disease and short-term cardiac event risk.
Last year I had a calcium score test and the result was zero. This means no measurable plaque buildup in my coronary arteries. It’s not recommended that a person have a calcium score test more frequently than every five years.
I spent about five minutes lying on the table while the test was administered. There is no preparation required other than filling out a questionnaire that includes personal medical history.
“Using the CT scan and the patient’s history, a total calcium score is calculated,” adds Dr. Pressel in the interview. “That score is then compared to patient databases according to gender and age to come up with a final number. The lower the score, the better it is, and a figure of 150 or more indicates an unhealthy buildup of calcium deposits.”
My calcium score test cost $350, though they can be as low as $70. Medical insurance usually will not cover the procedure.
