About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Risks
By Mayo Clinic staffHeart scans use a type of X-ray technology called electron beam computerized tomography (EBCT) to see the calcium in your arteries. This type of scan does have some risks. One EBCT scan of the heart, for instance, could expose you to the same amount of radiation as could up to 33 chest X-rays. Repeated heart scans over time could expose you to excessive levels of radiation and an increased risk of cancer. Because of the radiation risks, you shouldn't have a heart scan if you're pregnant.
Another type of heart scan uses computerized tomography (CT) angiography to show narrowing of your heart arteries. If you have this procedure, you could have an allergic reaction to the medication that's used during the procedure.
A caution on walk-in heart scan clinics
Certain medical facilities and walk-in centers may advertise heart scans as a quick, easy way to measure your risk of a heart attack. These advertisements often target people who worry that they might have a particular disease even if they seem healthy and have no known risk factors. Facilities that promote heart scans for the general public don't require a referral from a doctor. You can walk in off the street and get the scan. However, these scans might not be covered by your insurance.
If you decide to have a heart scan, it may be best to have it done through your primary doctor, since he or she already knows your other risk factors for a heart attack. If you choose a walk-in scan, be sure to take a copy of the results to your own doctor for follow-up. He or she can help you decide what steps you may need to take to improve your heart health and prevent a heart attack.
- 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.
Find Mayo Clinic on