HeartScore, Coronary Artery Calcium Scoring, is one of the most advanced methods available today to detect heart disease in its earliest stages. There’s no better time than now to prevent heart disease, because American Heart Association statistics like these continue to remind us of its tragic effects:
  • Every 29 seconds a person suffers a heart attack.
  • Every minute a person dies from a heart attack.
  • 50% of men and 63% of women who die suddenly of heart disease have no previous symptoms.
  • About 80% of people under 65 who died of heart disease did so during their first attack.
  


Over time, deposits of cholesterol and other substances build up along vessel walls and become calcified. Blood flow slows until a clot forms, completely sealing off the passage of blood to the heart. At that point, a heart attack occurs.


Calcification in the coronlary arteries is the earliest indicator of heart disease. HeartScore uses non-invasive, high-speed computerized tomography (CT) to scan the heart and detect calcium deposits along the walls of arteries.


Your HeartScore is a score that identifies your level of calcium deposits. Taking into account other factors such as age, family history and cholesterol level, your doctor uses that score to measure your potential for heart disease.

If your HeartScore indicates a risk for heart disease, your doctor can recommend drug therapies, lifestyle modifications, or other treatment to help slow the progress of the disease.

Heart disease is the common name for "Coronary Artery Disease." This condition is the end result of a progressive hardening of the arteries, a process in which the arteries become clogged and prevent oxygen-rich blood from reaching the heart.

The following factors may increase your risk for heart disease and, ultimately, a heart attack. Check all that apply to you or someone you love.
You are a male over 45 years old.
You are a female and over 55 years old, OR you have passed menopause or had your ovaries removed and are not taking estrogen.
Your father or brother had a heart attack before age 55 OR your mother or sister had one before age 65.
You smoke OR you live/work with someone who smokes daily.
You have a cholesterol level of 240 mg/dl or higher.
You've been told your blood pressure is high.
You do NOT exercise on a regular basis for at least 30 minutes.
You're 20 pounds or more overweight.
You have diabetes OR you need medicine to control your blood sugar.
If you have two or more of these risk factors... you may want to consider HeartScore.

First, your doctor will have to write a prescription for "Coronary Artery Calcium Scoring." For your convenience, you can CLICK HERE and print out a prescription form which your doctor can use. The completed prescription form can be faxed to our facility or you can bring it with you at the time scheduled for your HeartScore exam.
The cost of your HeartScore is $295(USD). All major credit cards or cash are accepted at the time of service.
There's no need to change your clothes. You'll be lying comfortably on the exam table for about five minutes, though the actual scan takes only seconds.
Electrocardiogram leads will be placed on your chest to synchronize the scan with your heartbeats.
You will be asked to hold your breath for a few seconds during the scanning.
The scan is painless and emits only a small amount of radiation.
There is no special preparation for the exam - no fasting, no injections, no ceasing of medications.
After your study, Buffalo MRI & CT will send the results to you and your doctor.

Click above to visit the Buffalo MRI & CT website