Calcium Score
Test
Your calcium score can provide an indication of whether or not you are
a risk of suffering heart problems. Cardiac problems are more common
now than ever before. The stress from our daily lives and the unhealthy
eating habits are some of the causes for the increase in heart related
problems.
Heart diseases and other circulation problems might give symptoms like
chest pain and shortness of breath but unfortunately for many people
that is not the case.
The complications from heart disease can affect many people, especially
those who think they are completely fine and have never bothered to get
tested by their doctor. Heart attacks often appear without a warning;
that is why is very important to know if you are at high risk. One way
doctors often use to determine the risk of
suffering from heart disease is by measuring cholesterol levels. LDL
cholesterol can be quite dangerous once it enters the arteries. The
walls of the arteries can harden if too much bad cholesterol
accumulates in them. The hardening of the arteries can obstruct the
blood flow resulting in heart attacks.
Sometimes having low cholesterol is not enough to guarantee a healthy
heart; there have been cases of people with low cholesterol levels
suffering from heart attacks. So even when cholesterol is a good
indicator of heart problems is not the only one. Knowing your calcium
score can also be helpful to determine your risk of experiencing heart
disease. This test is used to detect if the atherosclerosis condition
is present. Atherosclerosis is a disease that can cause an accumulation
of plaque in the coronary artery walls. The amount of plaque found is
directly proportional to the chance of experiencing a myocardial
infarction in the future. This plaque is mostly composed of
cholesterol, calcium and fat. Calcium can accumulate in certain parts
of the arteries weakening them so is essential to detect it as soon as
possible.
The calcium score range from zero to thousands.
A 0 represents a very
low risk of suffering heart attacks in the future while a number over
1000 means a very high risk. Even if you do not feel any symptoms a
high score means you have to take the necessary precautions to avoid
future problems. This score tends to increase with age and should be
used in conjunction with other tests. The coronary calcium scan can
only see total calcium accumulation and if you have plaque without
calcium it will not be able to detect it. The people who benefit the
most from the calcium scan are the ones with hypertension, diabetes,
high cholesterol levels, have a family history of early heart disease
and smokers.
Men over 40 years old and women that have experienced their menopause
should also be checked for calcification of coronary arteries. Remember
even if you do not have any symptoms you should get the calcium score
test just to be sure.
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