In 2022, 702,880 people in the U.S. died from heart disease. The National Institutes of Health lists heart disease and stroke among the five most significant health challenges in the nation.
A medical imaging heart scan can confirm if you’re at risk of developing heart disease. Learning about preventative medical scans, knowing if you need a heart disease scan, the benefits of heart disease screenings, and how to limit your risk of heart disease can help you determine whether it’s time to talk to your doctor about booking a CT scan.
Schedule your CT scan.
What Is Heart Disease, and Why Is Early Screening Important?
Heart disease is a catch-all term for several conditions affecting your heart or blood vessels. When a person has coronary artery disease, plaque buildup limits the blood flow to the heart. Those with damaged arteries inside the heart muscle have coronary microvascular disease.
What Types of Heart Disease Can Early Screening Detect?
Preventative health scans are CT scans that can see inside your organs, arteries, muscles, and veins to provide a clear picture of what’s happening inside your body. Heart health screenings can detect the following types of heart disease:
- Congenital heart disease: Congenital heart diseases encompass multiple conditions present from birth. These conditions stem from the heart’s structure and affect blood flow. Congenital heart diseases include the following:
- Eisenmenger syndrome
- Pulmonary atresia
- Tetralogy of Fallot
- Coronary artery disease: The CT scan can detect signs of plaque or calcium buildup in your arteries, indicating the presence of coronary artery disease.
- Coronary microvascular disease: CT health scans can confirm if the heart’s small blood vessels are constricted, indicating the presence of coronary microvascular disease.
Heart Screenings
Heart screenings are CT scans that capture images of your heart and arteries.
What Are the Common Tests Used to Screen for Heart Disease?
Heart scans effectively assess arteries and identify blockages or buildup compromising blood flow. Heart scans can also identify injuries to the heart or blood vessels, infections, and signs of congestive heart failure.
Coronary calcium score tests focus on calcified plaque buildup. When plaque accumulates and blocks your arteries, it can cause a heart attack.
Are There Non-Invasive Heart Disease Screening Options? What Should You Expect During a Heart Disease Screening?
CT heart scans are non-invasive. Appointments take approximately 15 minutes, and it takes less than a minute to capture the images needed to assess the health of your heart and arteries.
You should avoid wearing clothing with an underwire, which can interfere with the scan. You should wear loose, comfortable clothes. You will not need to wear a gown during the exam. You’ll empty your pockets and remove your belt before lying on a flat table.
Once EKG electrodes are attached to your chest, the table will slide through the scanner, which is a large, circular structure. The table will go through the center of the structure slowly. You may be instructed to hold your breath for a few seconds or stay still while the CT scanner captures images.
How Accurate Are Heart Disease Screening Tests?
Heart scans and coronary calcium score tests can provide accurate information about the condition of your heart and arteries.
At What Age Should You Consider Screening for Heart Disease? Are There Specific Risk Factors That Necessitate Earlier Screening?
Without known risk factors for premature heart disease, the recommended ages for heart disease screening for men and women are 42 and 58, respectively.
Risk factors that could be reasons to have a heart scan early include the following:
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol
- Family history
- Obesity
- Smoking
How Does Family History Influence the Timing of Heart Disease Screening?
A family history of heart disease may justify earlier screening. You should discuss your family’s medical history with your doctor to determine if you should have early screening.
How Do Conditions Like Diabetes or High Blood Pressure Affect Screening Timelines?
The National Institutes of Health indicates you should have heart screenings five years earlier than the recommended ages for men and women if you have diabetes.
High blood pressure can harden your arteries, making it harder for blood to flow to your heart and increasing your risk of heart attack or heart failure. Early screening is warranted if you have high blood pressure.
What Role Does Cholesterol Play in Determining When to Screen for Heart Disease?
Fatty deposits can clog your arteries if you have high cholesterol. These deposits can interfere with the blood flow and cause a heart attack or stroke. If you have high cholesterol at a young age, you may need a heart scan earlier because the longer you have high cholesterol, the greater your risk of a heart attack or stroke.
How Often Should Heart Disease Screening Be Done?
A heart scan can determine your risk of heart disease. You may not need repeated scans unless you have a heart condition. In that case, your doctor may order additional scans to determine if your treatment is effective.
Can Lifestyle Changes Delay the Need for Screening?
Exercising regularly, managing your weight, and quitting smoking may delay the need for a heart scan.
What Symptoms Indicate You May Need an Immediate Heart Screening?
Signs you need a heart disease screening include the following:
- Chest pain
- Dizziness
- Fatigue
- Irregular, racing, or slow heartbeat
- Pain in jaw, neck, stomach, or upper back
- Numb or swollen legs
- Shortness of breath
How Does Early Detection of Heart Disease Impact Treatment Options?
Early screening increases the benefits of heart disease scans. With early detection, heart disease treatments are less invasive and more effective. Early detection also reduces the risk of death.
What Should You Do If Your Screening Results Show an Elevated Risk?
After having a CT scan near you, you’ll receive results in approximately 10 days. If your results indicate you have an elevated risk of heart disease, you should consult your physician and discuss treatment options. You may be able to manage your condition and prevent yourself from developing heart disease if you receive swift treatment and make appropriate lifestyle changes.
How Preventative Diagnostic Center Can Help
Preventative Diagnostic Center offers several non-invasive health scans. Contact us to book a preventative medical scan near you. We’ll use our low-dose CT scan to accurately assess your heart and arteries and determine if you’re at risk of developing heart disease.
We also offer virtual colonoscopies, and lung, bone density, and body scans. These scans can detect cancer, organ damage, musculoskeletal disorders, osteoporosis, and other severe health issues.
Preventative medical scans can detect severe diseases, such as heart disease and cancer, in their earliest stages. Early detection ensures you receive swift treatment, which increases the likelihood of restoring your health.
Book your CT scan.
Sources:
Leading Causes of Death. (2024).
Our Biggest Health Challenges. (2023).
When Is the Best Time to Get a Coronary Artery Calcium Scan? (2021).
