Heartsaver CT

Every year more than 1.5 million Americans suffer heart attacks. A half million die. That number continues to grow and it includes women as often as men. The age at which heart disease occurs continues to lower. Most victims never see it coming. They have no heart disease symptoms. No chest pain. No numbness in the left arm…no suspicion that the “silent killer” is at work, until it’s too late. Could you have heart disease? Did you know there’s a heart scan that can tell you in just a little over 7 minutes?

Arkansas Heart Hospital has the first Siemens 128-Slice CT in the state. A HeartSaver CT with this next-generation heart scan technology can uncover heart disease in less than seven minutes, and years before you have a symptom. It’s completely noninvasive. That means pain-free. There are no needles, no dyes, no injections and no exercise. The test itself is 100 percent comfortable and convenient.

Having a HeartSaver CT exam couldn’t be easier. It doesn’t take much time. You could go through the entire process, from paperwork to completing the scan during a normal lunch hour. The actual procedure itself is less than seven minutes. Physicians read all scans and determine calcium scores from “low risk” to “excessive risk.” We send the report directly to the patient’s physician, unless the patient is self-referred, in which case, we send the report to the patient.

HeartSaver CT is highly accurate, showing calcium deposits that might be present in and around the heart…even in the early stages. The earlier heart disease is detected, the better opportunity to modify behaviors that can contribute to the disease. Depending on the indicated amounts of plaque, early intervention with medication or lifestyle changes may stop or even reduce the buildup.

Who should have it done?

This test is best for men and women with a known risk factor for developing coronary artery disease. Men over age 40 and women over age 45 with one or more of the following risk factors should consider the scan:

  • Family history of heart disease
  • High cholesterol
  • High blood pressure
  • Smoker
  • Diabetic
  • Overweight
  • Inactive lifestyle
  • High stress

Call 219-SAVE(7283) today to schedule your HeartSaver CT, a CT heart scan to assess hard calcium deposits, for only $50 today.

HeartSaver CT is only one of the screenings used to determine a person’s risk for heart disease. At Arkansas Heart Hospital, we offer an entire program: Keep the Beat, dedicated to assessing risk of heart disease. Click here to learn about our Keep the Beat screening which is a cardiac screening consisting of nine components including a HeartSaver CT. Each component helps us build your cardiovascular risk profile.

Mr. Bill Farnam
Benton, Age 66
“Arkansas Heart Hospital is the only place to be. Great service, great people — fantastic place to be.”

Mr. Bill Farnam is particularly grateful for the HeartSaver CT. He was encouraged by family members to get a scan last year. When he came in for the HSCT scan he thought he had nothing to worry about since he had experienced no symptoms. When his calcium score came back extremely high, it was time to worry. He was notified on his way home from the scan that he needed to come back for a cardiac catheterization the next day, and from the catheterization, it was determined he would need coronary artery bypass — resulting in the bypass of five vessels. “The scan saved my life,” Mr. Farnam states. “I would encourage people to get the scan even if they do not have symptoms because it could save their lives too.”

HEARTSAVER CT FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q. Why should I be screened? I feel fine.

A. In its earliest and most treatable stages, heart disease rarely reveals itself through symptoms. For many people, a heart attack is the first clue of any heart problems.

Q. What makes HeartSaver CT different from traditional tests?

A. Traditional risk-factor tests do not always predict coronary artery disease. For example, a significant number of patients with elevated cholesterol levels will never develop a coronary event. Yet, at the same time, many with normal cholesterol levels do develop significant disease.

Q. Isn’t a stress test enough?

A. Graded exercise stress tests can uncover certain problems, especially if heart disease is so advanced that danger is imminent. Oftentimes, however, stress tests miss the problem and patients go undiagnosed. Because a treadmill test will detect only major flow-obstructing lesions, it is not appropriate for preventative testing or for screening patients who do not have symptoms. The HeartSaver CT offers crystal-clear images that identify coronary calcium, ranging from “low risk” to “excessive.”

Q. How long does the HeartSaver scan take?

A. The HeartSaver CT usually takes less than an hour of your time from registration to completion. The heart scan procedure itself takes about 7 minutes in most cases.

Q. Are needles involved?

A. There are no needles with the HeartSaver CT. There are no catheters, no injections, no dyes. The heart scan procedure is painless, noninvasive and in fact, you can wear your regular clothing.

Q. What do the results mean?

A. Results include photographic images and a calcium score (reflecting amount of calcium within the coronary arteries) with guidelines that help patients and physicians discuss the results. The score is identified as low risk, mild risk, moderate risk, excessive risk. Based on this calcium score, individuals can look at ways to change their diet, lifestyle or medication to better combat heart disease.