CT Scan - Heart Scan
Accurate Early Detection of Coronary Artery Disease
More than 2,600 Americans die of heart disease each day, one every 33 seconds. Early detection of coronary artery disease enables
patients and their physicians to modify risk factors to significantly reduce or even reverse the potential for advanced heart disease.
Cardiovascular Medical Group now offers the "Heart Scan", a highly accurate, non-invasive procedure for evaluating arterial calcium
deposits and risk for myocardial infarction due to plaque formation. This high-speed CT scan permits imaging of coronary blood vessels
without injections, IV or disrobing. It is simple, convenient and pain free, enabling patient to quickly know and understand their risk.
Either alone or in combinations with exercise testing no other test can predict outcomes better in cardiovascular medicine.
Effective Screening for Patients At Risk
Heart Scan is appropriate for men over 35 and women 40 or older with any of the following risk factors:
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol
- Diabetes
- History of tobacco use
- Family history of heart disease
- Obesity
- Significant emotional or job-related stress
The Significance of Coronary Calcium
CVMG is pleased to announce its association with Matthew Budoff, M.D., Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, David Geffen
School of Medicine, UCLA. Dr. Budoff joins CVMG as Director of Advanced Cardiac Imaging. As a founder of advanced cardiac
imaging, his pioneering research during the last decade has proven that calcium is a significant marker of atherosclerosis,
a process that can be slowed, stabilized or reversed to some degree by aggressive lifestyle modification and medication. Dr.
Budoff's research and others confirming this work have conclusively shown that the amount of calcium, scored systematically
is a very powerful predictor of cardiovascular events, more than any other single cardiovascular screening study including
blood work. Success in altering the calcium score depends upon early detection and patient compliance with making the applicable
changes in lifestyle and habits before a heart attack occurs. Calcification is caused by buildup of fatty streaks in the inner
lining of an artery that forms plaque and usually represents about 20% of the plaque burden. Not all patients with plaque have
calcium but the calcium score does help predict outcomes.
The plaque can build and harden, eventually calcify and result in reducing the flow of blood through the artery. When the
plaque ruptures due to a clot, blood flow is interrupted and this may result in serious arrhythmias or heart attack, which
may cause damage to the heart muscle, affecting the ability to pump blood to the body and ultimately increase the risk of death.
The calcium score provided by the Heart Scan indicates the total amount of calcified plaque in all the coronary arteries.
Highly Sensitive and Accurate
The Heart Scan offers a sensitivity of at least 95 percent, while treadmill testing, by comparison, provides approximately
80 percent sensitivity in determining future cardiac events. The heart scan is not, however, a replacement for exercise testing
or other procedures such as angiography or other types of CT scans that are used to evaluate more advanced disease. Your physician
will help determine the best type of test necessary based on the needs of each patient and their particular situation.
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