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Pittsburg, Kansas | Some decent information on that web site but this statement is patently false:
"A calcium scan is not helpful to patients who have a low or high risk of heart disease."
The ones with high risk is probably true. They already know they have problems and need to have the proper diet and lifestyle. Fair enough.
But the "low risk" ones are the ones who can potentially benefit the most. Because not all low risk by other measures turn out to really be low risk.
And even high risk can benefit by knowing their true condition. Look at me. I am definitely high risk, yet my score barely registered. Nice for me to at least know.
Listen to David Bobbit's story. He was the picture of health. Passed stress test and CEO health exams. Given a clean bill of health. Yet he has 90+ blockage in his coronary wall. He ran marathons and exercised regularly.
He is what is known as TOFI. Thin on utside, fat on inside. Some people are not very efficient as storing adipose tissue (fat) as subcutaneous fat. Subcutaneous fat is not generally harmful and is a protective layer for our body as well as storage for a "rainy day" when food is short. The people that can't store this type fat instead store it as viceral fat. Fat in and around our organs, expecially the liver and pancrease but also the kidneys and muscles (like the marbeling we like in a juicy steak). This is dangerous fat.
Just because you are thin and trim, does not mean you are healthy metabolically. One doctor said his worst diabetic patients were the TOFI.
Skip dinner out one night and get a CAC for 50 bucks and know for sure.
John
Eh, the more I read on that link the less I agree with. If a hospital wants to charge 400, find another hospital. Some hospitals use it as a loss leader to get you to do more tests. They wanted us to consider a appointment to talk about taking statins. We said no thanks. Hospitals make LOADS more money on the other tests. One reason some discourage (my heart doctor did - we did it anyway) CAC in favor of more expensive and even invasive tests.
Edited by John Burns 2/3/2020 11:28
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Heart disease and CAC scan
