« Monitor Insulin to Ensure Fat Loss and to Prevent Heart Disease | Main | Detect Most Cholesterol Abnormalities with VAP Cholesterol »
August 6, 2005
Detect Heart Disease Early with Heart Scans
CT scanners allow doctors to get a "picture" of a patient’s organs without looking inside. The latest generation of these machines uses Electron Beam Tomography, a machine that delivers a single electron beam at a speed ten times faster than the x-rays used in traditional CT scans. In fact, the electron beam is so fast it can capture images of a human heart as it beats. This noninvasive test is capable of producing images showing calcium deposits and blockages in the arteries.
Doctors can use this test to detect heart disease early. It is painless, and the entire procedure takes only about ten minutes. The process is similar to an x-ray of the body. A radiologist interprets the freeze-framed images to determine the amount of plaque in the arteries.
The test has one limitation: It detects only calcified plaque’ not non-calcified or “soft” plaque. A high calcium score on the test predicts the occurrence of cardiac events. In most cases, a suspicious score indicates the need for further testing.
While the blood markers and additional measurements discussed in chapter 5 of The Doctor’s Heart Cure provide an excellent indication of the presence of heart disease, a heart scan may be worthwhile in patients who would like to document the actual presence of arterial blockage.
To read more about this topic order Al Sears MD’s The Doctor’s Heart Cure today
Posted by james at August 6, 2005 5:36 AM