What can your calcium score tell you about heart health?
Heart disease is Australia’s biggest killer, but a calcium score can help determine your risk. Here’s what you’ll want to know.
Coronary heart disease claims more lives than any other disease in Australia, yet many people don’t know they’re at risk.
A calcium score can help identify your risk of having a future heart attack or stroke.
But, despite its benefits, this test isn’t necessary for everyone and it’s just one of many measures you can take to understand your heart health.
Cardiologist Professor Stephen Nicholls from the Victorian Heart Hospital explains how a calcium score works and who should get a scan.
What is a calcium score?
A non-invasive screening test, it begins with a CT scan to measure the amount of calcium on the walls of your arteries.
“You lie (on a scanner bed) for a few minutes and it takes x-rays and looks at the blood vessels on the surface of the heart, and the build-up of calcium,” Prof Nicholls told The House of Wellness TV.
Calcium deposits are a sign that there may also be a build-up of plaque.
Over time, plaque can narrow or block the arteries – essentially, narrowing or blocking the path that blood, oxygen and nutrients have to the heart – or it can break away and become a clot.
After your scan, you’ll be given a score ranging from no calcium to mild, moderate or high.
“The calcium score is important because it’s associated with the risk that somebody will have a heart attack or a stroke in the next 10-15 years,” Prof Nicholls says.
Do you need a calcium score?
Regular heart health checks are conducted through GPs, and are the baseline for identifying and managing heart disease risk.
A calcium score is the extra step for those at a higher risk, and is often recommended by a GP to investigate factors such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure.
“People who’ve yet to have a heart attack, whose cholesterol is very high, should get a score,” Prof Nicholls says.
“A calcium score can also be a useful tool for patients with moderately high cholesterol.”
Unlike a heart health check, a calcium score test is not covered by Medicare – and this extra cost is worth considering.
“One of the challenges with (a) calcium score is that it’s an out-of-pocket cost,” Prof Nicholls says.
“It’s not paid for by the government and depending on where you have your calcium score, it could cost you anywhere between $90 and $250.”
Can you lower your calcium score?
To lower your calcium score and keep your heart strong, Prof Nicholls says a healthy lifestyle comes first.
“A lot of it (heart disease) is preventable, but it’s only preventable if you do something about it, and lifestyle is absolutely critical,” Prof Nicholls says.
The calcium score is just one of many approaches to determine heart attack or stroke risk, and the heart health discussion should start with your GP, Prof Nicholls says.
“I think it’s important that the community are aware that there are other approaches to help us determine the risk of having heart attacks in the future, and guiding which medications we should use – it’s not all about calcium scoring,” he says.
“Blood pressure, cholesterol and other factors are really important, so knowing those numbers and starting a conversation with your GP is where any discussion should start.”
Read more on keeping your heart healthy:
- How to exercise for a healthy heart
- What can heart rate tell you about your overall health?
- Best veggies to help keep your heart strong
- What every woman needs to know about heart disease
Written by Hayley Hinze.
