In honor of Heart Health Month, let's discuss Coronary CT Calcium Scans. These scans are a low radiation CT scan of the chest that help clinicians gauge cardiovascular risk and decide on appropriate interventions. Because calcium shows up on CT scans (and the rest of the plaque doesn’t), we can use a Coronary CT Calcium Scan to identify calcium-containing plaque early, before it causes symptoms. The extent of calcium build up in the coronary arteries helps to predict the likelihood of a major coronary event (Kramer & Villines, 2022). This scan can be extremely helpful for the right subset of patients, but unnecessary for others. Appropriate candidates have either borderline, intermediate, or high 10-year risk of Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) (Kramer & Villines, 2022). If you have questions about your risk of ASCVD or heart attack, please talk to your health care provider. A Coronary CT Calcium Scan may play a role in understanding this important component of your health!
Read more about Coronary CT Calcium Scan and Coronary Artery Calcium Score (CAC) - Written by Erin Walker, PA-C
References: Kramer, C., Villines, T., (2022, August 23). Coronary artery calcium scoring (CAC): Overview and clinical utilization. UpToDate.
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