Coronary Calcium Scoring

At my facility we do a large amount of Coronary Calcium Score Exams everyday. This exam is offered to the public as a promotional procedure that the patient self-orders. This exam is used to detect the presence of atherosclerosis. If any calcification is detected by the CT scanner it can indicate the presence of plaque in the vessel. The calcification that is detected by the CT scanner is Calcium Scored by the software to determine the regions that contain calcium. This report is intended to help your physician determine if further cardiac care is needed. A Calcium Score of zero shows no identifiable plaque, 1-10 minimal plaque burden, 11-100 mild plaque burden, 101-400 moderate plaque burden, and over 400 extensive plaque burden. These ranges indicate the likelihood of coronary artery disease. The results of this exam are to be used as a risk assessment test and not to be used as a substitute for examination by a physician.

CTA Chest

CTA Chest is becoming a very common exam. Almost everyone who presents with chest pain or sob gets a CTA Chest rather than a CT Chest w/contrast. CTA Chest exam is done to diagnose a Pulmonary Embolism (PE). A PE is a blood clot in the lung. This blood clot usually originates from somewhere else in the body and moves to the lung where it becomes lodged causing damage. A PE can be caused by immobilization such as stroke, travel (sitting), trauma, surgery, obesity, etc. Pregnancy can also be a leading cause of PE due to an increase in blood clots. The CTA Chest exam diagnoses a PE by injection of contrast at a high rate (4ml/sec.) This injection is then bolus tracked at the pulmonary artery to highlight a PE.