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By Mayo Clinic staffMost experts agree that you should visit your doctor for an exam before heading to the nearest walk-in center for a heart scan. This can provide additional information on your heart attack risk for your doctor to consider. This exam should include:
- A review of your medical history and your family medical history
- A physical exam, including blood pressure measurement
- A risk assessment, including questions about your exercise and smoking habits
- Blood tests, including your cholesterol levels
Otherwise, you don't need any special preparations to have a heart scan.
- Greenland P, et al. ACCF/AHA 2007 clinical expert consensus document on coronary artery calcium scoring by computed tomography in global cardiovascular risk assessment and in evaluation of patients with chest pain. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 2007;49:378.
- Screening for coronary heart disease: Recommendation statement. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/uspstf/uspsacad.htm. Accessed Aug. 10, 2010.
- Coronary calcium scan. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/cscan/cscan_all.html. Accessed Aug. 10, 2010.
- Bonow RO. Should coronary calcium screening be used in cardiovascular prevention strategies? New England Journal of Medicine. 2009;361:990.
- Nieman K, et al. Comparison of the value of coronary calcium detection to computed tomographic angiography and exercise testing in patients with chest pain. The American Journal of Cardiology. 2009;104:1499.
- Shaw LJ, et al. Induced cardiovascular procedural costs and resource consumption patterns after coronary artery calcium screening. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 2010;54:1258.
- Cademartiri F, et al. Coronary calcium score and computed tomography coronary angiography in high-risk asymptomatic subjects: Assessment of diagnostic accuracy and prevalence of non-obstructive coronary artery disease. European Radiology. 2010;20:846.
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