Heart health tips

A simple heart scan can help you and your doctor better understand your heart health so that you can get the right treatment sooner. A heart scan creates high-resolution images of your heart to identify and measure calcium-containing plaque in your coronary arteries. Too much plaque can narrow your arteries and restrict blood flow, resulting in coronary artery disease (CAD). If daily tasks or a short walk are more difficult than they used to be, ask about heart screening options.

Calcium buildup in your arteries can be caused by diet, advanced age, family history of CAD, history of smoking, high BMI, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and other pre-existing medical conditions. That’s why our heart care team starts by getting to know you. We listen to understand you and your health concerns. Then, we work together to create a heart care plan that’s right for you.

Who should get a heart scan?

Your age, gender, lifestyle and medical history play a role in your heart health. You may benefit from a heart scan if you:

• Are a man over age 40 or a woman over age 50
• Are a smoker or have a history of smoking
• Have a family history of heart attack at an early age
• Have diabetes
• Have high blood pressure
• Have high cholesterol
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Vascular disease may not cause symptoms at first – and when symptoms show up, they may be severe. So, a vascular screening can help you and your doctor find problems early and help you understand your risk for vascular diseases, such as stroke, aneurysm and peripheral artery disease (PAD).This screening is a series of three simple tests that can help detect clogged, damaged, or weakened arteries and blood vessels.  The screening includes a:

• Abdominal aortic aneurysm screening
  
• Carotid artery screening (for stroke risk)
  
• Peripheral artery disease screening
  
  

Who should get a vascular screening?

Your age, gender, lifestyle and medical and family health history play a role in your heart and vascular health. Talk with a doctor about whether a vascular screening is right for you.