Every year, heart disease causes almost 18 million deaths. Cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks and strokes, is the leading cause of death globally and in the United States. Prevention is possible, but many people don’t take the necessary steps to detect conditions early on. Emerging research shows that calcium scoring is an excellent way to detect the risk for these diseases. Noticeable figures have emphasized the potential that lies in calcium scoring.
In this article, we’ll explore calcium scoring, what it is, how it works, and what professionals are saying about it.
What is Calcium Scoring?
The calcium score test, also called a coronary calcium scan, detects plaque buildup in your arteries. It focuses on the arteries connected to your heart and offers essential details about your risk of heart attack.
When you think about calcium, the heart is usually not an organ that comes to mind. We know that calcium is an essential part of the body, particularly when it comes to strong and healthy bones. However, what some people do not realize is that the heart also depends on calcium. This mineral has several roles to play in the cardiovascular system. It helps to ensure blood clots properly and is involved in regulating blood pressure.
Inside the heart, calcium is vital for your heart’s ability to pump. It also ensures blood continuously moves through your body.
However, sometimes, calcium can build up in the small arteries that help carry blood into and out of your heart. When this happens, your arteries start to narrow, which makes it harder for blood to flow properly.
This calcification can reduce the amount of oxygen-rich blood that enters your heart. In turn, this raises the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Calcium scoring focuses on helping to identify a buildup of this calcified plague in these arteries.
Who Should Get a Calcium Score Test?
While a calcium score test can offer valuable details about your heart health, it is not for everyone. Experts recommend only getting this test if it could provide you with valuable information.
Most people recommended to get a calcium score test are between 40 and 70 years old. If you already have symptoms related to heart disease, your doctor may recommend other tests. Since the calcium score test is a screening, it’s also generally not recommended to get the test if you have already been diagnosed with a cardiovascular condition.
Here are a few questions to help determine if you should consider a calcium score test. If you’ve answered yes to any of these, you may be a candidate.
1. Do you have a family history of cardiovascular disease?
2. Do you have high cholesterol or hypertension?
3. Do you have diabetes?
4. Is your BMI over 25?
5. Do you live a sedentary lifestyle?
6. Have you ever been a smoker?
The key here is to determine how much of a risk you have for heart disease. In most cases, you’ll be a good candidate for a calcium score test if it is determined that you have a moderate risk of cardiovascular disease.
There has been a significant increase in people opting for a calcium score test due to its potential. This test can help individuals get a view of their heart health and, if they score above 0, take the necessary steps to prevent complications that can happen due to plaque buildup.
Take Alexis Ohanian as an example. He decided to go for a calcium score test in 2022, and a year later, recommended the procedure on social media, stating:
“Probably the highest ROI $100 you can spend on your health.” - A. Ohanian, Reddit co-founder.
This was in response to Brad Gerstner, who posted about a calcium CT scan on X. Brad is the founder and CEO of Altimeter Capital and suggests that this investment could become a lifesaver.
We’ve also seen famous figures opt for a calcium score test to better understand their health. Hillary Clinton released her medical records just over a decade ago to offer transparency as a presidential candidate. She had a calcium score of zero. Donald Trump also released his medical records, where it was revealed he had a calcium score of 98 in 2013.
We also saw a significant increase in campaigns that focused on spreading awareness of calcium scoring after the former president of the United States, Bill Clinton, had to undergo bypass surgery. This led to scientific papers calling on insurance programs to provide coronary artery calcium testing coverage. The test is, however, still not covered by insurance.
What Happens After Your Test?
Once you’ve completed the calcium scoring test, your doctor will usually discuss the results with you. If you have a zero score, which is the ideal result, you don’t have any calcium buildup in your arteries.
Any score over zero means there is buildup, and you should take action. You’ll notice a lot of mixed opinions about what to do when you take a calcium score test and the result is higher than zero.
Some people recommend getting a CT angiogram, which might not be ideal for everyone. For example, Dr. David Maron from Stanford Cardiology explained that insurance plans usually do not cover it. The cost can be pretty high when paying out of pocket, which means many people won’t be able to afford a CT angiogram after they opt for a calcium score test.
You can still do many things after your calcium score test, even when options like a CT angiogram aren’t possible. Many people will decide to use a statin. This can help to improve cholesterol levels, particularly by reducing LDL cholesterol. This type of bad cholesterol clogs the arteries and can further cause problems with blood circulation.
Conclusion
Heart disease is a serious condition that claims millions of lives annually. One important problem that continues to burden the healthcare system is that cardiovascular disease doesn’t always cause early symptoms. Opting for a calcium score test can help people discover plaque buildup in their arteries before it causes complications. It provides an affordable way to detect the risk of heart-related problems and allows people to take action before they experience cardiovascular diseases or events.
References
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8723785/
https://www.aol.com/finance/reddit-cofounder-alexis-ohanian-calls-152343841.html
https://x.com/altcap/status/1793778988416192607
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/battle-of-heart-calcium-s_b_12183848
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6525277
Author
Bio
Laila is the Co-founder and CEO of Fitnescity.
She is an early adopter and advocate of personal health tracking. Her work on the topic has appeared in numerous media outlets and venues such as Stanford Medicine X, MIT, NYU, Harvard, Forbes, the United Nations, Future Healthcare Week and HyperWellbeing. She was named one of the top 18 female leaders in the NYC Tech Scene, a Legatum fellow in Entrepreneurial Leadership and a MasterCard Foundation fellow at MIT. Prior to Fitnescity, she was a founding employee at Dataxis, a global data analysis firm. Laila has an MBA from MIT Sloan. As an undergraduate, she studied engineering and management at Télécom ParisTech.