Recently, my colleagues and I treated a retired physician who was complaining of heartburn and chest pain. He’d taken a stress test, which can indicate coronary artery disease. But that test came up negative. To get to the bottom of his troubles, we turned to cardiac CT screening.
The test showed significant amounts of plaque in his arteries, and steered us toward appropriate treatment.
Cardiac CT screening is an underused but effective tool that can help us diagnose coronary heart disease.
Computed tomography scans, more commonly known as CT scans, combine multiple X-ray images to view specific parts of the body. Heart CT scans produce detailed views of the heart’s anatomy, coronary circulation and large blood vessels.
At the Inova Heart and Vascular Institute, we generally use heart CT scans in two ways:
Investment in Heart Health
Both calcium-score screening and CTA are safe tests that can help us spot problems early, before a serious event such as a heart attack or stroke. Early detection means we can start more aggressive treatments, such as medications to control high cholesterol.
I believe that coronary CT screening can benefit nearly anyone who has risk factors of coronary heart disease, including:
Unfortunately, many insurance companies don’t cover these tests, so they’re not as widely used as they could be. Still, for patients with any of these risk factors, I believe the tests are valuable investments in your heart health.
If you’re interested in coronary CT screening, talk to your primary care physician or cardiologist or learn more about the diagnostic test available at the Inova Heart and Vascular Institute.
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