What is a coronary artery calcium scan (CACS)?
It is a simple CT of the heart performed without injection of any contrast dyes that permits the easy identification of calcification (plaque) in the three major heart arteries. By good fortune, the density of arteries is different than the fat they sit in and the muscle and blood that are nearby in the heart. Calcium comprises about 20 percent of plaque in arteries but is such a different density than the rest of the heart that even small amounts show up like a beacon of aging and damage in by just holding your breath for 10 seconds.
A software program permits a score, called the Agatson score, to be calculated after the scan. If there is no calcium in the coronary arteries, the score is zero. Alternatively, even in persons with NO symptoms, the score can be the tens, hundreds and even thousands indicating small to huge amounts of calcified heart artery plaque that can lead to symptoms, sudden heart attacks, or sudden deaths.
Research studies like those cited above indicated that the heart calcium score is the most accurate way to detect silent heart disease and also the strongest predictor of future cardiac events like heart attack and death. In my area the scan can be done for as little as $75 so there is easy availability to all who do not know they have early heart disease but want to find out.
