Coronary Calcium Scoring

Your heart receives its blood supply from very small arteries called the coronary arteries. Due to several risk factors, calcium and a material called "plaque" can build up within these vessels. By measuring the amount of calcium build up, we can assess and calculate your risk of a heart attack.

Aspirus Keweenaw has once again taken the leadership role by being the only hospital in the Upper Peninsula to offer self referral for calcium scoring. This 3 minute procedure offers safe, painless and accurate information about calcium build-up in the coronary arteries. The results place a patient in a low or high heart attack risk category.

"Cardiac Scoring is one of the most significant and exciting procedures we have implemented at Aspirus Keweenaw", says Gordon Rintala, Diagnostic Imaging Director. "When we first initiated the self referral program, we did it for one reason - because we knew it would save lives. It has done exactly that! We have performed hundreds of procedures and have been able to inform people if they are building calcium in their heart arteries. There is nothing more rewarding than receiving a call thanking you for saving their life. Just as important is to be able to find someone who is starting to form calcium in their heart and giving them a chance to change their lifestyle before they become a high risk for a heart attack."

Coronary Artery Disease and Heart Attack Risk Factors:

Coronary Calcium Scoring is a safe, painless and accurate test that takes just a few minutes and could possibly tell whether you are at risk for a heart attack.

How Do I Schedule A Screening?

As a screening test, Coronary Calcium Scoring is not covered by most medical insurances at this time. The cost for a Coronary Calcium Scoring screening is $99.00. Payment will be required at the time of screening. A physician referral is not required.

To schedule your exam, please contact the Aspirus Keweenaw Diagnostic Imaging Department at 337-6531.

What Happens At The Screening?

When you arrive, check in at Admitting. You will be escorted to the Diagnostic Imaging Department where you will be asked to fill out a brief questionaire and put on a hospital gown.

You will then be asked to lie down on your back in our state-of-the-art CT scanner. You will be placed on an EKG monitor. You will be asked to hold your breath for a short time and images of your heart will be obtained. The procedure takes less than five minutes. The only preparation required is to avoid caffine for 24 hours prior to the exam. No fasting or other preparations are required.

Your information will be loaded into a computer and be analyzed by special computer software that can measure the amount of calcium present. A specialty physician, known as a radiologist, will evaluate your test and results will be sent to you and your physician within a week of your exam.

This screening test is not meant to replace evaluations done by a physician, but rather to assist you and your doctor with management of your health needs.