Heart scan benefits

Ebony, August, 2005

Q I'm a very active 41-year-old man who works out routinely and is in decent physical shape. I've had no real physical problems, but as I get older, I fear the possibility of developing heart disease because several of my close family members have been victimized. As I said before, I'm in pretty good shape, but what should I do to put my mind at ease? For instance, are there benefits to having a heart scan?

J.L., Atlanta

A The best and first thing that you can do to put your mind at ease about possible heart disease is to visit your doctor for a complete physical examination that can give you a realistic view about your overall health.

As a part of that examination, some doctors are likely to recommend a heart scan, which screens for heart disease in people who are otherwise asymptomatic. Medical experts say the heart scan measures coronary calcifications and is more accurate than a treadmill test to detect heart problems.

The procedure is relatively inexpensive, noninvasive and takes only a few minutes to perform. Doctors say the heart scan is rapidly approaching the popularity of angiograms, which are performed on more than 2 million Americans each year to detect blocked arteries. Angiograms are highly accurate, but, according to doctors, carry a small risk of heart attack, stroke and bleeding.

In a recent study, results indicated that for many heart patients, heart scans are 95 percent as accurate as angiograms. A heart scan allows doctors to look at the heart from various positions, thanks to a 3-D image that can be enlarged, color-enhanced or rotated to reveal blocked arteries or other defects.