Cardiac Calcium Scoring

Coronary Artery Calcium Scoring, Coronary Calcium Scan

Results

Cardiac calcium scoring uses a special X-ray test called computed tomography (CT) to check for the buildup of calcium in plaque on the walls of the arteries of the heart (coronary arteries). The radiologist may discuss initial results of the cardiac calcium scoring test with you right after the test.

Cardiac calcium scoring

Score	Presence of plaque
0	No plaque is present. You have less than a 5% chance of having heart disease. Your risk of a heart attack is very low.
1–10	A small amount of plaque is present. You have less than a 10% chance of having heart disease. Your risk of a heart attack is low. However, you may want to quit smoking, eat better, and exercise more.
11–100	Plaque is present. You have mild heart disease. Your chance of having a heart attack is moderate. Talk with your doctor about quitting smoking, eating better, beginning an exercise program, and any other treatment you may need.
101–400	A moderate amount of plaque is present. You have heart disease, and plaque may be blocking an artery. Your chance of having a heart attack is moderate to high. Your health professional may want to do more tests and may start treatment for heart disease. Or he or she may start you on aggressive treatment for any risk factors such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
Over 400	A large amount of plaque is present. You have more than a 90% chance that plaque is blocking one of your arteries. Your chance of having a heart attack is high. Your health professional will want to do more tests and will start treatment.

High values

The higher your score on cardiac calcium scoring, the more plaque you have in the arteries of your heart. This makes your chance of having a heart attack higher.

If you have a high cardiac calcium score, you may need more tests to check if you have coronary artery disease (CAD) or to find out how severe it is, especially if you have other risk factors for CAD. Cardiac calcium scoring can show that you may have plaque in your coronary arteries even if you do not have CAD. So this test is not advised for routine screening for coronary artery disease.

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Author:	Maria G. Essig, MS, ELS	Last Updated: June 19, 2007
Medical Review:	E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine George Philippides, MD - Cardiology
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