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Heart Disease (Expert Forum)
Ultrafast CT Results-Help me to understand score
This forum is for questions and support regarding heart issues such as: Angina, Angioplasty, Arrhythmia, Bypass Surgery, Cardiomyopathy, Coronary Artery Disease, Defibrillator, Heart Attack, Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure, Mitral Valve Prolapse, Pacemaker, PAD, Stenosis, Stress Tests.
Ultrafast CT Results-Help me to understand score
by Jery-Janis, Dec 12, 1998 12:00AM
I am a 38 year old male, and my recent Ultrafast CT was a 1mm area of calcification in the left coronary artery and a 1mm calcification in the right artery. The report said I had a total score of 2. What degree of risk is associated with a score of 2? I have no other serious risk factors other than my gender. Thank You.
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Dear Jerry,
Thank you for your question. Ultrafast CT is being heavily marketed in some cities as a preventive medicine tool. The idea behind this is that oftentimes calcium is present at the same points in the coronary artery as coronary plaque. However there are several pitfalls to this method.
1. There is no evidence that calcium correlates well with the type of plaque that can cause heart attacks.
2. There is not a lot of information about what is "normal".
3. The cost of the procedure is prohibitive for it's use as a screening tool.
For these reasons we do not recommend that individuals undergo this type of testing. This is a controversial topic and there are others who are strongly in favor of this technique.
I hope you find this information useful. Information provided in the heart forum is for general purposes only. Only your physician can provide specific diagnoses and therapies. Please feel free to write back with additional questions.
If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please call 1-800-CCF-CARE or inquire online by using the Heart Center website at www.ccf.org/heartcenter. The Heart Center website contains a directory of the cardiology staff that can be used to select the physician best suited to address your cardiac problem.
