Understanding Calcium Scores

If you are someone with high blood pressure, or someone who has heart issues, there may come a point when your heart doctor suggests you take a calcium score test to understand if you are at risk of a heart attack or stroke. When you take a calcium score test in New Jersey at ImageCare, you will lay down in a CT machine to be scanned with multiple pictures of your heart.  This non-invasive scan takes these pictures to reveal if you have a plaque buildup in your heart, which could lead to a heart attack or stroke. Your calcium score is based on a scale that should not exceed 300. If your calcium score surpasses the 300 mark, you have too much calcium blocking your heart’s function.

The excess calcium in your heart can cause abnormal heart rhythms, which can affect you on a physiological level. You may develop twitches, muscle spasms, or weak muscles. If untreated, this can lead to neurological issues as well, such as memory loss, depression, and irritability. If there is more calcium in your heart than normal, you will be prescribed medications to combat this.

Other reasons doctors may want you to take a calcium score test include:

• Congenital heart disease/birth defects in the heart
• A buildup of plaque that may be blocking your coronary arteries
• Defects or injury to the heart’s four primary valves
• Blood clots within the heart’s chambers
• Tumors in or on the heart

At ImageCare, you will find yourself in a comfortable and welcoming environment of expert doctors who are happy to help you understand your calcium scores. If your heart doctor suggests a calcium score test, or you are experiencing any of the aforementioned symptoms, count on ImageCare to help you. Call to book your appointment for a calcium score test with ImageCare of New Jersey today.