Myocardial infarction is the leading cause of death in Mexico and worldwide, resulting in approximately 18 million people dying in the world, around 200,000 people in Mexico.
A situation that can be prevented by coronary calcium scoring, which is an imaging study that is achieved through tomography, without pain and without using a contrast agent, in a very short time.
Dr. Enrique Vallejo Venegas, cardiologist at the ABC Medical Center’s Cardiovascular Center, says that knowing the coronary arteries’ calcium allows us to identify the existence of atherosclerosis, which is an accumulation of fats, cholesterol, and other substances inside the arteries and on its walls. This disease is progressive, the higher the coronary calcium the more coronary atherosclerosis, resulting in a higher risk of suffering a heart attack.
Through the tomography for coronary calcium scoring, it will be possible to detect if calcium is being deposited on the arteries’ walls and, by performing this study in time, it will be possible to stop said accumulation.
After performing the tomography, the existing calcium in the coronary arteries can be quantified and it will be classified into 3 options:
- Score between 1 and 100 equals a risk of up to 5% of having a heart attack in the next 3 years.
- Score between 100 and 300 equals a risk between 5% to 20% of suffering a heart attack in the next 3 years.
- Score greater than 300 equals a 20% chance of suffering a heart attack in the short term.
This situation is preventable, says Dr. Vallejo, by going to the doctor to establish a good plan and modify your lifestyle, which will stop the disease and prevent you from suffering a heart attack at any time.
When should a coronary calcium scoring be performed?
Dr. Vallejo says that there are four times a tomographic study to detect the coronary calcium score should be performed:
- Men older than 40 years.
- Women older than 50 years.
- People who smoke, are overweight, sedentary, hypertensive, living with diabetes or high cholesterol.
- People with relatives who have suffered a heart attack at a young age.
If you have any of these characteristics or are curious to know your coronary calcium score, come to the ABC Medical Center’s Cardiovascular Center, where specialized doctors will talk to you about the study and explain the benefits of having it done.
At ABC Medical Center’s Cardiovascular Center, we can provide you with specialized care. Contact us!
Fuentes:
Dr. Enrique Pablo Vallejo Venegas – Clinical Cardiology
https://youtu.be/wR8AMEgZKWc
https://www.mayoclinic.org/es/diseases-conditions/arteriosclerosis-atherosclerosis/symptoms-causes/syc-20350569
https://www.mayoclinic.org/es/diseases-conditions/arteriosclerosis-atherosclerosis/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20350575
