Coronary Artery Calcium Scoring
Performed with a CT scanner, can tell your doctor if you’re at increased risk for Coronary Artery Disease. This test may predict Heart Disease before the symptoms start.
This non-invasive scan does not require injections, needles or contrast dye. With the scan results, you and your doctor will be able to determine the best approach for reducing the risk of heart attack or other heart problems.
$49.00, Out-of-Pocket
15 minutes
Who Should Get a HEART SCAN?
- Smoker
- Men over 45
- Women over 55
- High Cholesterol
- High Blood Pressure
- Diabetic or Pre-Diabetic
- Postmenopausal Women
- Family History of Heart Disease
- Overweight or physically inactive lifestyle
The Story
Retired president of Carthage College and chairman emeritus of the Froedtert South Board of Directors, F. Gregory “Greg” Campbell, considered himself, “Perfectly healthy,” until he had a CT scan of his heart.
“I had the scan one afternoon,” recalled Greg. “While we were eating dinner that evening, my doctor called and said, ‘Greg, you ought to come in first thing in the morning and let us take a look at you.’ I thought I was okay,” Greg said.
At the clinic the next day, Greg learned that the scan had revealed a significant blockage of a major coronary artery, and arrangements were immediately made for Greg to have a cardiac catheterization. “The interventional cardiologist asked me, ‘See that?’ On the monitor he was pointing to an hourglass-shaped narrowing in one of my arteries. The doctor said, ‘That’s the widow maker.’” A stent was inserted into the artery to eliminate the blockage and lower Greg’s risk of suffering a potentially fatal heart attack.
“I had no idea that I even had a problem,” Greg said, “but one of my heart’s essential blood vessels was nearly blocked and could have closed completely at any moment. That’s why they call it the widow maker; it’s the one that can make people drop dead.”
“I thought I was utterly healthy, but the scan revealed that wasn’t the case. There’s no doubt in my mind,” Greg said, “that scan, along with the skilled doctors and nurses at Froedtert South, saved my life, and I’m alive today to talk about it.”