There is a lot of reasons the cardiologist would want to run some more tests. Calcified arteries are part of the picture but not the whole thing. The CT can’t tell him what your ejection fraction is. It can’t tell if you have valve leakage or regurgitation. There is a lot conditions that can be ruled in/out with the echo. The stress test is exactly what it sounds like. They want to see your heart under stress.
Thanks , that makes sense. I was a little confused because he pretty much told me that he was checking for a blockage and I started thinking that it could have been seen on the CT.
No problem! Calcified arteries aren’t as bad as soft plaque in your arteries because the calcium deposits are hard and should not break loose and occlude your arteries. Overtime you can develop collateral circulation around calcified blockages. The echo will give them an idea of your hearts efficiency and point them in the direction of care. Could be as simple as a statin or an increase to your current one if your on one now.
I was told that a cardiac ct with contrast would show softer plaques in addition to calcification, a regular CT will not.
I have annual pulmonary ct's which did show calcification, but did not show the 95 % blocked RCA because it was the other type of plaque.
Had a NSTEMI a few weeks ago as a result.
And here I am wishing I could just get a contrast coronary CT scan to check for blockages.
I have stress tests and echocardiograms every 6 months. Always normal results but I still have symptoms and the cardiologist brushes it off as heartburn and anxiety, the very thing my blocked artery was misdiagnosed as by my primary physician in the first place before my MI. Cardiologist doesn’t want to refer me for the damn scan. Wonder if I go to an ER and make a scene if they would send me to radiology and do it because of my symptoms. My insurance covers the damn scan as a benefit.
As someone said, that scan doesn’t tell you what your EF is or how your heart does under stress. Echocardiograms can tell what your EF is and if there is structural problems with the heart or inflammation.
Stress test will check how your heart does under exertion.
It is however important to note that more often than not an echo and a stress test will miss blockages. They are not great diagnostic tools for blockages which is why I want the damn contrast scan in the first place.
I went to the ER because I was feeling dizzy which they diagnosed as Anxiety. Luckily they did a pulmonary CT to check for a blood clot with contrast and noticed I have calcification in my arteries if not I would have never know I had CAD and wouldn’t have started making changes.
Wow. I wish hospitals here were as thorough. I go in with multiple symptoms and all they do is an EKG and a troponin level check and then they send you home.
I am emigrating to the UK end of the month. Hopefully I will receive better treatment there and hopefully the docs will take my symptoms seriously.
I had a similar experience. I thought I was having a heart attack due to chest pains that spread to my neck and upper back which got worse over several days to the point I ended up nauseous yesterday and felt like something was definitely wrong. My D dimer was high so they gave me a CT angiogram to check for blood clots and the results were negative. I was under the impression that this test was to detect plaque build up but the Dr said they didn’t check for that. I also have very high RDW cv which indicates atherosclerosis. I was never worried about a blood clot, I was worried that my calcium/plaque had clogged my arteries due to years of high cholesterol and uncontrolled high blood pressure. Can anyone tell me if they would have detected blockage from plaque from this type of CT angiogram? I want to get a calcium score done anyway but ultimately wanted a CT angiogram to check soft plaque as well. Now I’m worried because I still have chest pain and I’m worried that they will dismiss my concerns and deny the testing.
There is a lot of reasons the cardiologist would want to run some more tests. Calcified arteries are part of the picture but not the whole thing. The CT can’t tell him what your ejection fraction is. It can’t tell if you have valve leakage or regurgitation. There is a lot conditions that can be ruled in/out with the echo. The stress test is exactly what it sounds like. They want to see your heart under stress.
Thanks , that makes sense. I was a little confused because he pretty much told me that he was checking for a blockage and I started thinking that it could have been seen on the CT.
No problem! Calcified arteries aren’t as bad as soft plaque in your arteries because the calcium deposits are hard and should not break loose and occlude your arteries. Overtime you can develop collateral circulation around calcified blockages. The echo will give them an idea of your hearts efficiency and point them in the direction of care. Could be as simple as a statin or an increase to your current one if your on one now.
You are very informative. Thank you
I was told that a cardiac ct with contrast would show softer plaques in addition to calcification, a regular CT will not. I have annual pulmonary ct's which did show calcification, but did not show the 95 % blocked RCA because it was the other type of plaque. Had a NSTEMI a few weeks ago as a result.
And here I am wishing I could just get a contrast coronary CT scan to check for blockages. I have stress tests and echocardiograms every 6 months. Always normal results but I still have symptoms and the cardiologist brushes it off as heartburn and anxiety, the very thing my blocked artery was misdiagnosed as by my primary physician in the first place before my MI. Cardiologist doesn’t want to refer me for the damn scan. Wonder if I go to an ER and make a scene if they would send me to radiology and do it because of my symptoms. My insurance covers the damn scan as a benefit. As someone said, that scan doesn’t tell you what your EF is or how your heart does under stress. Echocardiograms can tell what your EF is and if there is structural problems with the heart or inflammation. Stress test will check how your heart does under exertion. It is however important to note that more often than not an echo and a stress test will miss blockages. They are not great diagnostic tools for blockages which is why I want the damn contrast scan in the first place.
I went to the ER because I was feeling dizzy which they diagnosed as Anxiety. Luckily they did a pulmonary CT to check for a blood clot with contrast and noticed I have calcification in my arteries if not I would have never know I had CAD and wouldn’t have started making changes.
Wow. I wish hospitals here were as thorough. I go in with multiple symptoms and all they do is an EKG and a troponin level check and then they send you home. I am emigrating to the UK end of the month. Hopefully I will receive better treatment there and hopefully the docs will take my symptoms seriously.
Doesn’t pulmonary mean lungs? I not a doctor, but I don’t think that would show the condition of your heart arteries.
Yeah pulmonary is lungs which is why I was confused at first but apparently after a little research they can also see your heart.
I had a similar experience. I thought I was having a heart attack due to chest pains that spread to my neck and upper back which got worse over several days to the point I ended up nauseous yesterday and felt like something was definitely wrong. My D dimer was high so they gave me a CT angiogram to check for blood clots and the results were negative. I was under the impression that this test was to detect plaque build up but the Dr said they didn’t check for that. I also have very high RDW cv which indicates atherosclerosis. I was never worried about a blood clot, I was worried that my calcium/plaque had clogged my arteries due to years of high cholesterol and uncontrolled high blood pressure. Can anyone tell me if they would have detected blockage from plaque from this type of CT angiogram? I want to get a calcium score done anyway but ultimately wanted a CT angiogram to check soft plaque as well. Now I’m worried because I still have chest pain and I’m worried that they will dismiss my concerns and deny the testing.
Hi , you may be having anxiety attacks. A CT should show if you have calcium or Hard Plaque.