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Around Our Town...To Your Health
Early Detection Key to Heart Disease Prevention
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02/01/2006 - New Technology Scans Heart to Measure Plaque
According to the American Heart Association, heart disease is the number one killer of both men and women in the United States.
Unfortunately, for many people, their first symptom of heart disease is a heart attack or other coronary event. That is why early detection and prevention are keys to preventing heart disease.
Wyoming Medical Center has launched a new program using the latest technology to aid the early detection of heart disease. This brand new, non-invasive test measures the amount of calcium (plaque) in the coronary arteries long before other non-invasive tests. The sooner coronary artery disease is detected, the greater the chance it can be stopped or even reversed through medication or lifestyle changes.
Using a state of the art, high speed CT scanner from Siemens Medical Solutions, 3D images are taken of the heart and its arteries to look for calcium build up. A coronary artery calcification score is then calculated and compared to a database of people within the same demographic group. This comparison will help your physician and you assess your risk.
Based on this score, you and your personal physician can discuss lifestyle changes or medical interventions to help slow, stop or even reverse heart disease. If referral to a cardiologist is necessary for further treatment, your doctor can assist you and refer you to one of our seven cardiologists at the Heart Center of Wyoming.
Candidates for the heart scan are men and women age 40 and older with one or more risk factors for heart disease, such as smoking, high cholesterol or a family history of heart disease.
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