Inside the screening process called coronary calcium scan at Christ Hospital
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States.Every 36 seconds, it takes the life of a person in America.The numbers are staggering. About 655,000 people die from it each year. That’s more than the COVID-19 death toll since the start of the pandemic.I just found out I have heart disease. I was concerned. Many people I know had discovered they had severe blockage in their arteries.I was curious: How do we even find out if there’s a problem?My doctor told me about the coronary calcium scan. It’s only $99 out of pocket and any hospital can do it if you call them.I went to Christ Hospital to show you this simple test that you can easily register for and it could save your life.After a 5-minute registration process, driver’s license, insurance card and a few signatures, it’s go-time.Dr. James Kong is the cardiologist from Christ Hospital who is teaching me about my heart health.He says if you have any of the risk factors — like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, your age or just being a man — this special X-ray is a great way to listen to your body before it’s too late. “The first sign may be heart attack. And people feel well — out of sight out of mind — and they don’t even know that they’re at risk,” Kong said.Since 40 to 50% of all heart attacks end in death, Kong says making your most important muscle a priority could save your life. “It’s a quick scan a very low dose of radiation. It’s a very easy test and doesn’t even require an IV,” Kong said. “But it will give us a scan and let us look at the inside of the heart and see if there’s any calcium built up in the heart arteries.” The test literally takes 5 minutes. The CT scan technologist puts four sensors on me: two stuck to my upper chest and two down below the belly button. You lie down and they raise you up even with the scanning device. Then, the tech leaves the room to control things with the computer keyboard. It’s a scan that emits only minor radiation. The machine is like a robot, programmed to talk to you. The commands are: “Breathe in and hold,” “breathe, in and out of the cylinder you go” — three times in all and then it’s over. It’s that simple. Now the moment of truth. Normally the data would come back and the cardiologist might go over it with you the next day or over the phone, but in this case, they sped up the process.Kong looks at a computer screen with the images of my heart. “This is your left coronary artery. You see a bit of purple. You have a bit of calcium,” he said. It’s a score of 58, worse off than 50% of people in my age group, but better than the lower 25% of folks my age. There’s probably some plaque buildup in the arteries. There’s mild or minimal coronary narrowing, Kong said. “On the scale of things, your score is still on the modest to low side. Your risk of heart attack is maybe a little bit higher than what we knew before you got the scan, but your risk really takes off when your score is over several hundred and you’re not there yet. You do have heart disease. Very mild, but you do.”Kong says the coronary calcium CT shows that I am at risk.Since I don’t smoke and my blood pressure and cholesterol look good, I need to exercise more. He recommends 150-minutes a week or 30-minutes a day for five days.Nothing crazy, he said, adding a brisk walk is fine.If you are worried about your heart, your family history or if you have a risk factor, this simple CT scan could answer a lot of questions.If you have symptoms like chest, neck or shoulder pain, shortness of breath, dizziness or fatigue, don’t mess around — get right in to see your doctor.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States.
Every 36 seconds, it takes the life of a person in America.
The numbers are staggering. About 655,000 people die from it each year. That’s more than the COVID-19 death toll since the start of the pandemic.
I just found out I have heart disease. I was concerned. Many people I know had discovered they had severe blockage in their arteries.
I was curious: How do we even find out if there’s a problem?
My doctor told me about the coronary calcium scan. It’s only $99 out of pocket and any hospital can do it if you call them.
I went to Christ Hospital to show you this simple test that you can easily register for and it could save your life.
After a 5-minute registration process, driver’s license, insurance card and a few signatures, it’s go-time.
Dr. James Kong is the cardiologist from Christ Hospital who is teaching me about my heart health.
He says if you have any of the risk factors — like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, your age or just being a man — this special X-ray is a great way to listen to your body before it’s too late.
“The first sign may be heart attack. And people feel well — out of sight out of mind — and they don’t even know that they’re at risk,” Kong said.
Since 40 to 50% of all heart attacks end in death, Kong says making your most important muscle a priority could save your life.
“It’s a quick scan a very low dose of radiation. It’s a very easy test and doesn’t even require an IV,” Kong said. “But it will give us a scan and let us look at the inside of the heart and see if there’s any calcium built up in the heart arteries.”
The test literally takes 5 minutes. The CT scan technologist puts four sensors on me: two stuck to my upper chest and two down below the belly button.
You lie down and they raise you up even with the scanning device. Then, the tech leaves the room to control things with the computer keyboard. It’s a scan that emits only minor radiation. The machine is like a robot, programmed to talk to you.
The commands are: “Breathe in and hold,” “breathe, in and out of the cylinder you go” — three times in all and then it’s over. It’s that simple.
Now the moment of truth.
Normally the data would come back and the cardiologist might go over it with you the next day or over the phone, but in this case, they sped up the process.
Kong looks at a computer screen with the images of my heart.
“This is your left coronary artery. You see a bit of purple. You have a bit of calcium,” he said.
It’s a score of 58, worse off than 50% of people in my age group, but better than the lower 25% of folks my age.
There’s probably some plaque buildup in the arteries.
There’s mild or minimal coronary narrowing, Kong said.
“On the scale of things, your score is still on the modest to low side. Your risk of heart attack is maybe a little bit higher than what we knew before you got the scan, but your risk really takes off when your score is over several hundred and you’re not there yet. You do have heart disease. Very mild, but you do.”
Kong says the coronary calcium CT shows that I am at risk.
Since I don’t smoke and my blood pressure and cholesterol look good, I need to exercise more. He recommends 150-minutes a week or 30-minutes a day for five days.
Nothing crazy, he said, adding a brisk walk is fine.
If you are worried about your heart, your family history or if you have a risk factor, this simple CT scan could answer a lot of questions.
If you have symptoms like chest, neck or shoulder pain, shortness of breath, dizziness or fatigue, don’t mess around — get right in to see your doctor.
