There are good reasons to get almost any type of preventive imaging scan. If you have health problems or a history of certain diseases in the family, a preventive scan related to those problems could save your life. But in the case of heart health, preventive imaging may save more than just your own life. It could actually save the lives of others.
This point was made in a recent article which highlighted a new heart test that can be done in hospitals. The test can be done on emergency room patients who are presenting with problems that may or may not be signs of an impending heart attack. The test shows which people likely have other (less serious) problems. That allows doctors to focus on those folks who have immediate heart health problems and therefore to save more lives.
This same basic formula can be applied to the importance of heart scans for the general community. People who get heart scans can prevent problems associated with heart disease. This helps to limit the number of people who are going to heart doctors for emergency treatments. That means those doctors have more time to treat the patients who do come in with heart attacks and other serious health problems.
Of course, a heart scan alone isn't going to stop you from having a heart attack. However, it can help you to identify your level of risk and to provide you with information that will allow you to act more preventatively to protect your heart. It's something that can save your life. And if it can save someone else's in the meantime, that's all the better.
Question of the Day: Do you think the cost of a heart scan is worth the money saved on future heart treatment?
