MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. (July 16, 2015) — Middletown Medical, the Hudson Valley’s premier provider of healthcare services, is now offering reduced pricing on Cardiac Cat (CT) Scans for Calcium Scoring.
The price of $65 “is a significant reduction in order to allow everyone that needs the test to have it done, as this procedure is generally not covered by insurance” said Lori Marl, Operations Director.
A cardiac CT scan for coronary calcium is a non-invasive (quick and painless) way of obtaining information about the presence, location and extent of calcified plaque in the coronary arteries – the vessels that supply oxygen-containing blood to the heart muscle.
Calcified plaque results when there is a build-up of fat and other substances under the inner layer of the artery. This material can calcify, which signals the presence of atherosclerosis – a disease of the vessel wall – also called coronary artery disease (CAD). Those with CAD have an increased risk for heart attacks. In addition, over time, progression of plaque build-up can narrow the arteries or even close off blood flow to the heart. The result may be chest pain, sometimes called “angina,” or a heart attack.
And because calcium is a marker of CAD, the amount of calcium detected on a cardiac CT scan is a helpful prognostic tool. The findings on cardiac CT are expressed as a calcium score. Another name for this test is coronary artery calcium scoring.
CAD Risks
The goal of cardiac CT scan for calcium scoring is to determine if CAD is present and to what extent, even if there are no symptoms. It is a screening study that may be recommended by a physician for patients with risk factors for CAD but no clinical symptoms. The major risk factors for CAD are:
— High blood cholesterol levels
— Family history of heart attacks
— Diabetes
— High blood pressure
— Cigarette smoking
— Overweight or obese
— Physical inactivity
The first step to being tested is to schedule an appointment with your Primary Care physician to be evaluated and obtain a prescription. To schedule this Primary Care appointment, simply call (845) 342-4774, or visit www.MiddletownMedical.com to request an appointment.
