What Does This Cardiac CT Result Indicate?

Posted on Mon, 20 Oct 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Mon, 20 Oct 2014 Answered on

Thu, 13 Nov 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : I am a 67 year old white male 6'1" /190 lbs, with symptoms of short breath under limited exertion and arms going to sleep mostly at night. I just had a Cardiac CT screening with thin-section axial imaging with and w/o radiation: CTDI volume 65.93 mGy and DLP 677.95 mGy-cm. Snap-shot pulse imaging following administration of 100mL of Omnipague 350 followed by 125 mL saline flush and 400 micrograms of sublingual nitroglycerin immediately prior to injection. My Agatston score 2637 - of this score 1043 let anterior descending, 353 left circumflex and 1241 right coronary artery resulting in my being in the 90th percentile based on age and sex and indicates a severe atherosclerotic plaque burden. What does this mean? I am I subject to a heart event or stroke - what should I do next?

Answered by Dr. Benard Shehu (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Increased chances for atherosclerosis...

Detailed Answer:
Hi,

I have gone through your medical history carefully and understood your concerns.

1. Based on the Cardiac CT results, I can say that you have a high index of atherosclerosis that might lead to major cardiovascular events (stroke/attack).

2. My recommendations are as following:
- continue with your current treatment regularly
- consider taking statins (discuss it further with your doctor)
- increase physical activity
- discuss with cardiologist to schedule coronarography.

Hope it helped!
Dr.Benard

Note: For further queries related to coronary artery disease and prevention, click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T