A
Calcium Score screening is a CT scan of the heart for hardened arteries. A
score of Zero means they found no calcium. MY.CLEVELANDCLINIC.ORG
Certain physical symptoms may signal
heart disease, but its not always clear. An intervention cardiologist talked
with KERA Vital Signs host Sam Baker about clues that may
indicate you have heart disease when you don’t have symptoms.
Dr. Jeffrey Schussler,
an intervention cardiologist with
Baylor, Scott and White, said the first thing to consider is your family
history and any risk factors you may have.
Interview Highlights
Family History And Risk
Factors
So if everybody in your
family died of a heart attack before age 50, it’s not a bad idea to do some
preventive, either evaluation or treatment. Likewise, if you have other risk
factors: hypertension, diabetes, if you use tobacco — if you have these risk factors,
then you should probably be thinking you could be someone with heart disease.
A Good Test For Coronary
Disease
If you're worried about
coronary disease there's at least one very good screening test that can be
done: a coronary calcium score. It’s actually a CT scan of the heart for
hardened arteries. Very low dose radiation. Zero means they found no calcium.
Having a number that’s not zero is actually actionable. Specifically, putting
them on cholesterol medicine like statins is really helpful for preventing
future events.
Traditional, Less
Effective Methods
·
Stress tests: In the past, people have said they
want to check their heart and asked for a stress test. Truth is, if you’re
telling me you can exercise and you feel fine, doing a stress test doesn’t
necessarily add more information, and stress tests themselves are somewhat
flawed.
·
EKG test: EKG’s are very good if you come to me
and say I’m having chest pain right this second, it can often identify if
you’re having a heart attack — not always, but often. What they’re bad at is
telling you if you’re going to have one tomorrow.
Why Heart Disease Can Be
Hard To Find
It can be very silent
until it causes a problem. You can actually deal with quite a bit of blockage
in your arteries. Up to 75% of an artery can narrowed before the reduction in
the blood flow causes symptoms, causes chest pain.
The Takeaway
·
Know
your family medical history and risk factors
·
Exercise
regularly
·
Eat
a reasonable diet
·
There’s
no need from a cardiovascular standpoint for vitamins and supplements. Needed
nutrients will come from fruits and vegetables in a healthy diet.
The American
Heart Association Recommends Testing:
·
Blood pressure: High blood pressure greatly increases
your risk of heart disease and stroke.
·
Cholesterol: A fasting lipoprotein profile should be
taken every four to six years, starting at age 20. This is a blood test that
measures total cholesterol, LDL (bad) cholesterol and HDL (good) cholesterol.
·
Weight/Body Mass Index (BMI): Obesity creates
higher risk for problems such as heart disease, stroke, atrial fibrillation and
congestive heart failure.
·
Blood Sugar: High blood sugar levels put you at
greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Untreated, diabetes can lead to
many serious medical problems including heart disease and stroke. Your blood
sugar (glucose) should be tested at least every three years.
·
Discuss smoking, physical activity, diet: You should talk
with your doctor about these at each regular healthcare visit. If you smoke,
ask for help in quitting.
RESOURCES:
No comments:
Post a Comment