CardioScore
How much do you exercise? How balanced is your diet? What’s your family risk of heart disease? All those factors and more contribute to the health of your heart. Understanding what places you at risk for heart disease can help you learn how to make healthy lifestyle changes. The CardioScore at Mary Greeley Medical Center is one tool that can lend a heart-healthy hand.
Coronary artery disease is the number one killer of men and women in the United States. It kills more people than all forms of cancer, and, if detected early, could save many of the estimated 250,000 people who die each year from this disease. Using the CardioScore test can help determine calcification of the coronary arteries, which is a sign of potential coronary artery disease.
How is CardioScore Performed?
Sophisticated and noninvasive, CardioScore:
- is performed in the Mary Greeley Medical Center Radiology Department
- is quick and painless
- scans the heart to detect calcified plaque in or on the arteries using computerized tomography (CT)
Using a complicated formula involving the area, concentration, volume and density of calcium detected, we can determine a person's risk of a heart attack.
Who Should Have CardioScore Performed?
You should consider CardioScore if you are:
- Male and over the age of 45
- Female and over the age of 55
In addition, if you have high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, diabetes, a history of smoking, relatives with heart disease or a sedentary lifestyle, you may want to have CardioScore performed 10 years earlier than the recommendations.
Please note: CardioScore is not foolproof and does not detect noncalcified plaque in the vessels.
Request an Appointment
A physician referral is needed for a CardioScore. Schedule your appointment with a primary care physician or specialist.
