Starter Package
Cardia Vision
Our Services
Calcium Score
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Cardia Vision
Radiologists & Cardiovascular Imaging Specialists located in Bellevue, WA
Starter Package - Calcium Score
- See calcified atherosclerotic plaque in your coronary arteries, if present.
- Dictated report by a board-certified radiologist was sent to you and your referring clinician.
- $150 *
Starter Package Q & A
What is a calcium score?
- A calcium score is a CT scan of your heart without contrast.
- It demonstrates calcified atherosclerotic plaque of your heart blood vessels (coronary arteries).
- Calcified plaque is a sign of atherosclerosis.
- This score can increase with statin medications since statins melt and calcify soft atherosclerotic plaque.
What is Atherosclerosis?
- Junk in your arteries is atherosclerosis.
- It is leading cause of a heart attack and sudden death.
- Soft plaque is more likely to rupture than calcified plaque (SCOT HEART trial2020).
- A Coronary CT Angiogram is the only noninvasive way to see soft plaque in the arteries that supply your heart.
- Medications melt soft plaque (LOCATE trial-2024). So at Cardia Vision, we like to say it is all good news. If you have disease, it can be treated. If you don’t, good news too.
What should my calcium score be?
- A calcium score of zero means there’s no calcification detected in your heart blood vessels (coronary arteries).
- Even with a calcium score of zero, you may still have noncalcified (potentially vulnerable) atherosclerotic plaque of your heart blood vessels.
- A calcium score can be high with untreated or treated atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries.
- Lipid lowering medications, like statins, melt noncalcified (potentially vulnerable) plaque and leave a peripheral calcification so a calcium score often goes up as noncalcified (potentially vulnerable) atherosclerotic plaque melts away.
What a Calcium Score Does NOT Show?
- Does NOT detect soft (potentially vulnerable) plaque
- Does NOT determine coronary artery narrowing
Can a calcium score tell whether I have blocked arteries?
No.
Can a calcium score tell if I have soft (potentially vulnerable) atherosclerotic plaque?
No.
Why It Matters?
- A calcium score is a helpful starting point for understanding your heart health.
- For a more complete evaluation, it is often combined with a Coronary CT Angiogram (CCTA) to detect both calcified and soft plaque.
*Prices and services subject to change.
