Calcium Scoring
Schedule My Calcium Scoring Scan
What is a calcium scoring scan and why do I need it?
A calcium scan is a noninvasive computerized tomography (CT) scan that measures calcium build-up in your artery walls. The CT scans your heart and the measurement of calcification produces a score that shows the level of calcium in your heart and the risk of having a sudden cardiac event, such as a heart attack.
The only normal calcium score is zero. “Healthy individuals should have no calcium in their heart,” Johnathan Hadley, M.D., a board-certified radiologist at East Alabama Health explains. “If you have any calcium in your heart; you have coronary disease. Unlike guessing what your risk of heart disease is based on family history or symptoms, by looking at your heart for the presence of calcium, we can tell you more definitively if you are at risk for heart attack. Based on your calcium score, we can determine whether you are low, intermediate or high risk for a future cardiac event.”
If you possess some of the risk factors associated with heart disease, such as smoking, being overweight, having high cholesterol, having high blood pressure or being diabetic, a calcium scan can do more than identify your risk - it can help prevent a future heart attack. When you receive your calcium score, your physician will consider your score, along with your risk factors, in order to determine the best plan for prevention.
Who should get scanned?
Doctors recommend that if you are otherwise healthy, a calcium scan should be performed at age 40 for men and 45 for women. If your score is zero, you generally do not need to be tested again for five years. “Even for people who have good health, this is a safe, noninvasive test that is much like a screening mammogram. It can provide more information about your heart health,” Dr. Hadley states. “A calcium scan is valuable because it is a very good reflection of actual risk for the individual. Your calcium score can provide your doctor with a more complete picture of your actual risk.”
Those with chest pain, known heart disease, previous angioplasty/stent or heart surgery are not good candidates, and do not qualify for this test.
Candidates for this scan are anyone with the following risk factors:
- Smoking
- Family history of heart disease
- Obesity
- High cholesterol
- High blood pressure
- Diabetes
Schedule Your Scan
Please call 334-364-3111 or click here to schedule an appointment. While a referral is not required, please provide the name of your primary care physician when you schedule your exam. After your scan, your physician will be able to review the results of your exam with you.