Cardiac Score Procedure - What To Expect

• You will change into a hospital gown.
• You will lie on a special scanning table.
• The technologist will clean three small areas of your chest and place small, sticky electrode patches on these areas. Men may expect to have their chest partially clipped to help the electrodes stick. The electrodes are attached to an electrocardiograph (ECG) monitor, which charts your heart’s electrical activity during the test.

• During the scan, you will feel the table move inside a donut-shaped scanner. The high-speed CT scan captures multiple images, synchronized with your heartbeat. A sophisticated computer program, guided by a radiologist, then analyzes the images for presence of clarification within the coronary arteries:

  • Absence of calcium is considered a “negative” exam. It does not exclude the presence of “soft” noncalcified plaque.
  • If calcium is present, the computer will create a calcium score that estimates the extent of coronary artery disease.

The calcium-score screening heart scan takes only a few minutes.

After the Procedure

You may continue all normal activities and eat as usual after the test.

Interpretation of results:

• The CT scan and its computer program will determine the number and density of calcified coronary plaques in the coronary arteries.
• A calcium score is provided.
• Your results will be examined and reviewed.
• The team will evaluate the calcium score, along with other risk factor measurements (risk factor evaluation, blood pressure, lipid analysis), to determine your risk for future coronary artery disease and will make recommendations regarding your lifestyle, medications or additional cardiac testing.

You and your primary care physician will receive the full report outlining your risk assessment and follow-up recommendations.