Calcium Scoring

Do you have deadly calcification in your heart arteries?

Discovering your calcium score can help you make lifestyle changes needed for a long, healthy life. Calcium Scoring is a simple CT scan that helps measures the amount of calcification around the heart. These calcifications indicate coronary atherosclerosis or “hardening of the arteries,” which leads to the #1 cause of death in the United States.

The more calcification present, the higher the calcium score and the greater the likelihood of significant heart disease. A high calcium score indicates a moderate to high risk of an adverse event, such as a heart attack, over the next five years.

For further information, contact us at 734-458-4366

Call for Information

Coronary calcium scan

Talk to your doctor about calcium scoring at Garden City Hospital. Call 734-458-4366 to schedule your appointment today.

Is calcium scoring right for you?

It’s a GOOD IDEA to get a calcium scoring CT scan if you are over 40 years old and have any of the following risk factors:

Family history of heart disease
You smoke
Your BMI is considered overweight
You live a sedentary lifestyle (limited to no physical activity, 150 minutes per week
You have been told you have high LDL cholesterol
You have been told you have low HDL cholesterol
You have been told you have high blood pressure
You have diabetes or prediabetes

What to expect during a calcium scoring exam

Calcium scoring is a quick, pain-free CT scan of the heart. No contrast or IV insertion is needed and it requires low-dose radiation. Patients even wear their regular clothes during the exam.

Patients are asked to lay down while electrodes (sticky pads) are placed onto the chest. The patient is then asked to hold their breath for a few seconds while they go through the scan. The whole test takes less than 20 minutes to complete, while still giving doctor’s the right amount of information to determine if early plaque buildup is present and further action is required.

The higher the calcium score, the higher the risk for heart disease. Patients with a high calcium score will receive a FREE assessment with a Garden City Hospital heart expert to discuss next steps toward living a long, healthy life.

Click here to take our FREE Heart Risk Assessment to learn if calcium scoring may be right for you. Talk to your doctor about calcium scoring at Garden City Hospital. Doctor’s prescription needed for appointment.