Is there a history of coronary heart disease in your family? Do you worry about having a heart attack? Well, there is a new imaging technology called a heart scan that utilizes computerized tomography that can scan your heart and in just a few minutes it can provide you with information about problems that are going to occur before they happen.

The heart scan can tell if you're at higher risk of a heart attack or other problems long before you have any outward symptoms of disease. A heart scan is able to measure the amount of calcium in the walls of your coronary arteries, this information in combination with your health information, can help your doctor to assess your risk of coronary artery disease.

Some Risk Factors Include

• High blood pressure

• High cholesterol

• Diabetes

• Smokers

• Family history of heart disease

• Overweight or obese

• Stress

Some medical centers are offering drop-in heart scan procedures where you can have a scan done without an appointment. These scans do not require a referral from your doctor.

If you are concerned that you may have a certain disease, but aren't showing any symptoms and have no known risk factors a heart scan may be an option for you to reassure yourself that you're okay and healthy.

Heart Scan Procedure

The scan is noninvasive which means that there are no needles, no cutting and no anesthesia. Your doctor will have lie on a table where a electrodes will be attached to your chest. You will be asked to take in a deep breath and hold it for a few seconds, the table will slide into a CT scanner, the images will then be created. In less than fifteen minutes you will have a score that is indicative of your risk factors and can assist your doctor in guiding your treatment.

A heart scan normally costs $500. If you would like to have a heart scan done there are numerous medical facilities in your area where a doctor can assist you with a this procedure, schedule your appointment today.

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