A coronary calcium scan uses a special type of X-ray called a CT scan. This heart scan provides pictures of your heart that can enable your doctor to detect and measure calcium-containing plaque in the arteries.
What is a coronary calcium scan?
Quick answer
A coronary calcium scan is a CT scan, which is a special kind of X-ray, that produces pictures of your heart. It looks for calcium-containing plaque in your coronary arteries. Those deposits can narrow the arteries and raise your risk of a heart attack. The scan detects them and measures how much is there. That tells your doctor how severe your coronary artery disease is.
A coronary calcium scan is a computed tomography scan of the heart for the assessment of severity of coronary artery disease. Specifically, it looks for calcium deposits in the coronary arteries that can narrow arteries and increase the risk of heart attack.
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