There are many people who have undergone a heart scan and are aware of the fact that it is the quickest and easiest of all available health tests. The patient just needs to hold his/her breathe for about thirty seconds and the procedure is completed. There is no involvement of IV, pushing, prodding, medication, poking or preparation. It is really simple and that easy. A common comment that is heard after getting the scan completed is “Is it over already?” But this small effort undertaken is sure to provide a powerful information piece about the heart’s future.
What is heart scan exactly?
The best ct scan in Chennai for a heart can be termed to be 30-V40 cross-sectional images (which may vary depending upon individual height) taken of the heart from bottom to top. The images are obtained within a few seconds of the patient holding his/her breathe. It is necessary to hold the breath as it helps to eliminate heart motion due to adjacent lung expansion. In each of thirty images taken or so, the three coronary artery slice can be viewed easily, since each slice tends to overlap with the below and above, while the scan offers a 3D survey of contents of the chest. Each and every scan gets reviewed, while specific criteria are applied to the computer to determine if the chosen area within the coronary artery is a coronary plaque or not. then the area gets multiplied by plaque density, which yields ‘score’ for the plaque. Every image slice having plaques get scored, which are all then added up to yield a total score, which is reported to the patient. At times, one might come across ‘Agatston’ score – a total score that derives is named after Miami University’s Dr. Arthur Agatston, who is said to have developed the very first scoring method. Presently, Agatston score is considered to be the popular standard calculations performed for all heart scans.
Who is eligible to get heart scans?
How to determine whether to undergo heart scans or not? this is a question that is asked by many patients. According to health experts, women over the age of 50 and men over 40 are eligible to get heart scans. Hidden plaques with scores > 0 are noticed among men of age 40+ and women of 50+. Before these ages, it is highly unusual to score above zero for both the genders. When compared to men, women are recommended to get scans at a later age due to late development of plaque.
On crossing this age, no useful criteria are present to determine the eligible factor. For example, LDL cholesterol can be used to determine eligibility to avail scan. If anyone having LDL cholesterol is chosen above 130 mg/dl, then half of the people suffering from heart disease will be missed out.
Is there any best score for heart scan?
No delectable or zero plaque in any of the scan images. Higher the score, the much worse it becomes. What actually constitutes terrible score in heart scan? Health experts explain that it depends. According to them, higher the score, the much more is the plaque present in the coronary arteries and more greater is the risk of heart attack. 1000 or even greater scores mean a lot of plaque and higher risk by about 25%/year of heart attack chances.
What is heart saver CT scan screening?
It is also referred to as Calcium Scoring CT or UltraFast CT, which is available now for over a decade. The study tries to identify calcified plaque gathered in the heart arteries. Actually, a plaque is waxy, fatty substance type that is produced by the liver, which proceeds through the bloodstream. It is commonly known as cholesterol. Plaque frequently adheres to the artery walls and solidifies with time, to be called calcified plaque. The heart arteries are looked at by heart saver best ct scan centre in Chennai to identify calcified plaque.
This is stated to be a reasonable test taken by patients who are eager to know if they have contracted heart disease or not. This test is just for half an hour, where there is not required any preparation or needles. But this study is not meant for someone having known heart disease. Its purpose rather is considered to be a future predictor of the heart disease. If the person already is aware of having heart disease, then it will be a sheer waste of precious money. Heart saver CT can be termed to be a fabulous tool which when used properly can provide magnificent and accurate results necessary for diagnosing the disease and carrying out further treatment.
The study in several instances is conducted as the person touches the age of 40 and above. It is a bit costly procedure, but few insurance companies might cover it. Going through the existing policy can help find out if coverage is provided or not. since this test is considered to be experimental, many insurance providers do not cover it.
When results are concerned, it can be bad or good news. If the calcium scoring result obtained is zero, then it is good, since zero is regarded to be the perfect score and there is not found any calcified plaque within the heart arteries. Therefore, the person is not suffering from atherosclerosis caused heart disease. But any score that is above zero will mean having heart disease. Although the person may not have experienced a heart attack, having elevated calcium score will clearly mean that there is bound to be one someday. Again calcium score could vary into thousands in the unsuspecting victim, who can be compared to that of a ticking bomb. A high score derived by the scan will mean the person has to undergo immediate treatment to do away with the heart disease.
If the person determines to undergo heart saver CT and the score is found to be higher than zero, then the priority is to slow down plaque buildup momentum. This is done by combating cholesterol present and trying to optimizing the numbers. by availing proper treatment, the disease will not make any headway and will get reduced significantly.