Keep the beat and assess your risk for heart disease

Campbell County, Wyoming residents now have access to a new screening test for Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) at Campbell County Health.

It’s called Calcium Scoring, and it’s a quick and painless test that can assess your risk of heart disease. The test uses a CT scan to measure the amount and location of calcification in the arteries of your heart. Calcification happens when there are significant deposits of fat, called plaque, in the arteries. The more plaque, the higher the risk for heart disease.

Hundreds, even thousands of people in the community have some degree of coronary artery disease and may not know it because they don’t have any symptoms. Calcium Scoring screening is designed for those people who don’t have any symptoms of heart disease, but may still be at risk. If there is a history of heart disease in your family, you have high blood pressure, diabetes, or you are a current former smoker, you are at risk for heart disease.

The test results can help you and your doctor target any treatment or lifestyle changes before heart disease gets worse, like dietary changes, quitting smoking, exercise or starting on medication.

“This test is really for people who don’t know if they have heart disease, and can give people the information they need to start to make those behavioral changes,” says Dr. Sairav Shah, Cardiologist at Campbell County Medical Group in Gillette, Wyoming. “Because patients need their physician to order the test, it’s an opportunity to have a dialogue with your doctor that can help prevent problems down the road.”

The test is done by the Campbell County Memorial Hospital Radiology department, and is available by appointment Monday-Friday. The referring physician receives the test results so follow-up can be scheduled if needed.

The cost is $200, and it is self-pay, meaning that patients must pay at the time of registration. It is not normally covered by insurance, but you may submit to your insurance carrier, use your Flex benefits or HSA.

Talk to your doctor to see if Calcium Scoring screening may be right for you. Learn more at www.cchwyo.org/calct.

Hear what Dr. Nick Stamato, CCH Chief of Staff and CCMG Cardiovascular Services, has to say about the Calcium Scoring test in this video, taken during the January CCH Board of Trustees meeting.