Q. Why should I be screened? I feel fine.

A. In its earliest and most treatable stages, heart disease rarely reveals itself through symptoms. For many people, a heart attack is the first clue of any heart problems.

Q. What makes HeartSaver CT different from traditional tests?

A. Traditional risk-factor tests do not always predict coronary artery disease. For example, it's been shown that a significant number of patients with elevated cholesterol levels will never develop a coronary event. Yet, at the same time, many with normal cholesterol levels do develop significant disease.

Q. Isn't a stress test enough?

A. Graded exercise stress tests can uncover certain problems, especially if heart disease is so advanced that danger is imminent. Oftentimes, however, stress tests miss the problem and patients go undiagnosed. Because a treadmill test will detect only major flow-obstructing lesions, it is not appropriate for preventative testing or for screening patients who do not have symptoms. The HeartSaver CT offers crystal-clear images that identify coronary calcium, ranging from the mild to severe.

Q. How long does the HeartSaver scan take?

A. The HeartSaver CT usually takes less than an hour of your time. The procedure itself takes about 7 minutes in most cases.

Q. Are needles involved?

A. There are no needles with the HeartSaver CT. There are no catheters, no injections, no dyes. It's a fast and completely noninvasive heart screening. That means pain-free.

Q. Are there any risks, such as radiation exposure, involved?

A. The risk with HeartSaver CT is virtually nonexistent. The X-ray dose for each study is equivalent to one abdominal X-ray.

Q. How accurate is HeartSaver CT?

A. Studies indicate an accuracy of 95 to 98 percent. Even more significant, the reliability increases with your age.

Q. What do the results mean?

A. Results include photographic images and a calcium score reflecting amount of calcium within the coronary arteries) with guidelines that help you and your physician discuss the results. Your score is identified as very low risk, low risk, moderate risk,to better combat heart disease