COMPUTER TOMOGRAPHY ANGIOGRAM (CTA or CT Angiogram)

Continuing with our theme of women's heart health in the month of February, I saw this story on the news yesterday.

The Computer Tomography Angiogram is a new, non-invasive test that can provide information about what is going on in your heart arteries - literally within seconds. In that time thousands of pictures of the heart combine and show if there are blockages or any amount of plaque build up in the arteries. An assessment of these pictures results in a cardiac score. Zero is best. Anything above that needs attention. The premise being that if you know what is going on in your heart you can make life style changes to rectify the situation. While zero is best, a score of 400 for example would indicate a significant risk of heart attack.

While the CTA machine itself looks like a MRI machine the results are much faster. Patients slide in, fully clothed, and seconds later slide back out. It is not the long, claustrophobic ordeal that one usually experiences with a regular MRI. Picture clarity is incredible.

More good news. Medicare groups and private insurance companies are starting to pick up the cost of this pro-active test.