“Are coronary calcium scans necessary?”
I'm 32 years old and overweight, probably from my really poor diet. My doctor wants me to have a coronary calcium scan soon. Why are these necessary?
1 Answer
A coronary calcium scan is generally considered useful for people who have a known moderate risk of heart disease or when the risk is uncertain. There are different tools for an initial risk assessment, but all of them use factors, such as your age, sex, blood pressure, cholesterol levels and tobacco use. A moderate risk is generally defined as a 5 to 7.5 percent chance of a heart attack in the next 10 years or when the risk is calculated to be low, but there is a history of heart attacks at an early age in the family.
The American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association guidelines published in 2013 on cardiovascular risk assessment suggested that it would be reasonable to perform coronary calcium heart scans for people with a calculated risk of 5 to 7.5 percent or when "a risk-based treatment decision is uncertain."
A Calcium scan does result in radiation exposure. While this exposure is generally considered safe, it is not recommended when there is no likely benefit to getting the scan. In other words, when the scan is not likely to provide any information that is useful in defining your risk or directing a treatment plan, the risk of radiation exposure outweighs any potential benefit.
According to the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association guidelines, a calcium scan is generally not recommended for the following people:
Men under age 40 and women under age 50, because detectable calcium at younger ages is not likely
People who have a low risk, because detectable calcium is highly unlikely, in the absence of family history of heart attacks at early age
People who already have a known high risk, because the heart scan will likely not provide any additional information to guide treatment decisions
People who already have symptoms or a diagnosis of heart disease, because the procedure would not help doctors better understand the disease progression or risk
People who already had an abnormal coronary calcium heart scan
The American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association guidelines published in 2013 on cardiovascular risk assessment suggested that it would be reasonable to perform coronary calcium heart scans for people with a calculated risk of 5 to 7.5 percent or when "a risk-based treatment decision is uncertain."
A Calcium scan does result in radiation exposure. While this exposure is generally considered safe, it is not recommended when there is no likely benefit to getting the scan. In other words, when the scan is not likely to provide any information that is useful in defining your risk or directing a treatment plan, the risk of radiation exposure outweighs any potential benefit.
According to the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association guidelines, a calcium scan is generally not recommended for the following people:
Men under age 40 and women under age 50, because detectable calcium at younger ages is not likely
People who have a low risk, because detectable calcium is highly unlikely, in the absence of family history of heart attacks at early age
People who already have a known high risk, because the heart scan will likely not provide any additional information to guide treatment decisions
People who already have symptoms or a diagnosis of heart disease, because the procedure would not help doctors better understand the disease progression or risk
People who already had an abnormal coronary calcium heart scan
