Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Coronary calcium scans help detect heart disease risk, even without typical symptoms.
- A recent study shows calcium scores effectively predict heart attack risk in both genders.
- Experts recommend scans for men at 50 and women at 60, costing about $100.
BOUNTIFUL — Andra Lalli, 65, leads an active lifestyle. She enjoys going to the gym and has taught fitness classes for years — which is why when she went in for a heart scan, her results were surprising.
"He said, 'You have a 77% chance of having a heart attack compared with all the other women your age.' I was like, 'I think you got me mixed up with someone else,'" Lalli said.
Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States and in Utah. Intermountain Health cardiologist Dr. Brent Muhlestein said heart disease can happen at any age, even if you don't have any of the typical risk factors like high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, or are a smoker or have a family history of heart problems.
"Many patients don't have any risk factors but still are at high risk for coronary heart disease," he said.
And people usually don't experience symptoms in the early stages, which is why it's critical to detect it as soon as possible.
"The time to address the risk factors associated with heart disease is not when you get older and when you get heart disease, it is before you ever get it so that you can prevent it from happening," Muhlestein said.
Coronary heart disease occurs when plaque builds up in the arteries, restricting blood flow to the heart. That buildup can be detected through a coronary calcium scan — essentially a CT scan of your heart. It's a noninvasive imaging test that takes only a few minutes.
The scan produces a calcium score — a score of 0 means no calcium or other plaque can be found in your arteries. Researchers at Intermountain Health conducted a recent study that found that calcium scores are highly effective in predicting the risk of heart attack in both men and women.
Dr. Muhlestein said a score above 100 is worrisome.
"If you have coronary calcium, your risk of a heart attack is very high," he said.
Lalli's score was 134.
After consulting with her doctor, she began a statin medication. After six weeks, her score has dropped to 75.
"If you catch it early, then you can aggressively treat it and it'll never become severe enough to cause troubles," Muhlestein said.
"I think it's so important to get this test," Lalli added. "It's easy. You might as well do it and figure it out."
Experts recommend men receive a coronary calcium scan starting at age 50, and women at age 60. Intermountain Health offers coronary calcium scans at most of its locations, costing around $100.
