Calcified plaque in the heart arteries is a result of years of fatty deposits which have subsequently calcified and can be a marker of the amount of plaque that is present. A procedure called calcium scoring is a non-invasive, painless medical test that takes pictures of your heart in thin sections and tracks the location and extent of calcified plaque in your coronary arteries.
Calcium scoring is one of the screening tools we have in Cardiology to detect the presence of coronary artery disease in people who do not have symptoms of chest pain or shortness of breath. Several risk factors may prompt your doctor to consider a calcium score test:
- family or personal history of coronary artery disease
- male over 45 years of age; female over 55 years of age
- past or present smoker
- history of high cholesterol, diabetes, or high blood pressure
- overweight
- inactive lifestyle.