Frequently Asked Questions
Heart Disease
Risk Factors
What Is A Coronary CT Angiogram?
What Is Calcium Scoring?
How Long Does This Procedure Take?
Do I Need A Medical Referral?
What Should I Do To Prepare On The Day Of The Exam?
Is This An Out-patient Procedure?
When Will I Get My Results?
The Procedure Safe?
What If You Find I Have Heart Disease?
Is The Procedure Covered By Insurance?
Cost
Parking
HEART DISEASE
Heart Disease is the #1 killer of both men and women in the United States today. In fact, it kills more men and women then the next 6 causes of death combined. Heart disease is manifested by problems in the coronary arteries. They can be blocked or obstructed by plaque either hard plaque, when people have hardening of the arteries, or soft plaque which can be caused by inflammation or cholesterol build up inside the coronary arteries.
At HeartScan of Chicago the state-of-the art technology that we have allows us to look inside the coronary arteries to determine if there is any plaque – either hard plaque or soft plaque – and if it’s there to what extent it’s causing any obstruction or blockage.
RISK FACTORS
You know you need a heart scan if you’re having symptoms, certainly people that are having chest pain, shortness of breath, particularly if it’s associated with exertion, should be concerned about coronary artery disease. There are a number of pre-existing conditions, or what we call risk factors, that also should raise a concern for the possibility of heart disease. That would include:
Family history of coronary artery disease, also a personal history of cigarette smoking, being over weight, high fatty foods in a persons diet, high levels of cholesterol, inadequate exercise and stress, all are risk factors that increase the likelihood of coronary artery disease. Also patients that have diabetes or other cardio vascular disease, such as stroke or mini-strokes are at increased risk for coronary artery disease.
WHAT IS A CORONARY CT ANGIOGRAM?
The coronary CT angiogram that we do at HeartScan of Chicago is actually one of the most comprehensive ways of imaging the heart and coronary arteries. The first thing and most important thing that we want to look at are the coronary arteries themselves. We actually look inside the coronary arteries to assess if there is any hard plaque, or calcified plaque commonly called artherosclerosis, or any soft plaque or inflammation inside the artery itself we’ll take a look to see if any of that plaque inside the artery is causing blockage or obstruction of the artery and if it is, we want to measure exactly how much blockage or obstruction it is causing.
Once we’ve looked at the coronary arteries, we’ll turn our attention to the rest of the heart where we look inside the heart to see the valves themselves, we’ll look at the heart muscle to make sure there isn’t any thinning or thickening of the heart muscle and to assure that the oxygenation or blood flow throughout the heart muscle is uniform. Then we will look at the actual pumping of the heart to assess the efficiency with which the main pumping chambers are pumping. We want to make sure that the walls of the pumping chambers are all moving uniformly.
Finally, we’ll look at the envelope surrounding the heart and we’ll look at the tissues around the heart such as the lungs and the spine, behind the heart.
WHAT IS CALCIUM SCORING?
Until recently, the older technology available limited CT scanning of coronary arteries to the so-called calcium scoring. This is a test that would provide a rough indication of how much calcification of hardening or the arteries there was in, near, or around the coronary arteries. Unfortunately, we couldn’t see inside the coronary arteries to tell whether the calcification is causing any blockage or not and the test has not been covered by insurance.
The state-of-the-art technology now available at HeartScan of Chicago allows us to actually look inside the coronary arteries to see if there’s any hard plaque or any soft plaque that is causing blockage and if it is causing blockage we’re able to see exactly to what extent it’s causing blockage or obstruction of the coronary arteries.
And the study that we do at HeartScan of Chicago is reimbursed by most private insurance companies.
HOW LONG DOES THIS PROCEDURE TAKE?
You should plan on being at the office about 3 hours from the time you arrive until you leave, during which time we will review your medical history, physical finding as well as do the actually CT scan. After the scan is over we will give you a preliminary report and review the images with you and when you leave you’ll have a CD with the images on it and can resume your normal activities right away.
DO I NEED A MEDICAL REFERRAL?
If you would like your medical insurance to be billed for the procedure, you will need an
order from your primary care physician.
WHAT SHOULD I DO TO PREPARE ON THE DAY OF THE EXAM?
On the day of the exam you should not have any caffeine. That would mean no coffee, tea, cola’s, chocolate or any other form of caffeine. It’s alright to eat and drink on the day of the exam but you should have only light meals.
As far as medication goes, you should continue to take any medication you are on. You do not need to change your medication schedule for the exam. If you have any particular questions about your medication you should give us a call or your physician a call.
IS THIS AN OUT-PATIENT PROCEDURE?
Unlike a cardiac catheterization, at HeartScan of Chicago, this procedure is done on a completely out-patient basis.
WHEN WILL I GET MY RESULTS?
We will give you preliminary results as soon as the exam is over. It takes about 45 minutes to process the more than 5000 images that we take during the exam. Once those images are processed and reviewed we’ll bring you into the reading room and go over the images with you allowing you to see the findings and to see the 3 dimension/4 dimensional images of your heart and coronary arteries. We’ll give you the results of the exam at that time and your physician will receive a complete and final written report generally with 24-48 hours after the exam.
THE PROCEDURE SAFE?
The CT scan of the coronary arteries is considered a very safe procedure. It is a non-invasive procedure unlike cardiac catheterization, which is considered an invasive procedure with a higher risk level.
WHAT IF YOU FIND I HAVE HEART DISEASE?
If we find any problems with your coronary arteries, after discussing the finding with you we will send a written report to your physician. If you do not have a physician or someone with whom you wish to follow-up, we will provide you with names of primary care physicians or cardiologists in your area.
IS THE PROCEDURE COVERED BY INSURANCE?
Most private insurance companies cover the cost of this procedure. However, if you have additional questions, one of our certified billing specialists would be happy to speak with you.
COST
Self Pay:
Calcium Score: $250.00
CT Angiogram: $1500.00
Virtual Colonoscopy: $999.00
Heart with Chest, Abdomin, and Pelvis: $2600.00
If you would like us to submit a claim to your health insurance, we will need an order from your physician or cardiologist. We are in-network with most commercial insurance carriers. After the procedure we will bill your insurance company for the cost of the procedure. Approximately 30-45 days after your exam you will an Explanation Of Benefits (EOB) from your insurance company. At that point you will also receive a statement from us. If you have any questions about insurance coverage, we are always available to answer your questions. Please call us at 312-587-1111.
PARKING
There is parking available directly west of the office. The first driveway immediately west of the HeartScan of Chicago office (100 E. Walton Street) is a Valet Parking garage. We do validate parking so there is no cost to you for parking during your office / CT scan visit.
