A 30-year-old man came to see me with his CT calcium scan report, a non-invasive screening method that shows calcium deposits in the heart’s arteries, which eventually lead to plaque and blockage.
The concern reflects a growing question among younger adults who are proactively screening for heart disease: if all tests appear normal, can there still be hidden risk?
My own research has shown that this group harbours non-calcified or “soft” plaques that do not show up on a calcium scan.
Plaque rupture can trigger clot formation and lead to a heart attack.
My patient underwent a CT angiogram, which uses a contrast dye injection, to detect soft plaque.
A 30-year-old man came to see me with his CT calcium scan report, a non-invasive screening method that shows calcium deposits in the heart’s arteries, which eventually lead to plaque and blockage. His score was zero, which means very low risk. “My stress test and my echocardiogram are normal. I’ve lost around 15 kg by fasting and walking every day for an hour. But I am getting slight chest discomfort that is random and does not last long. Is something clogging my arteries,” he asked me, bewildered and worried.
The concern reflects a growing question among younger adults who are proactively screening for heart disease: if all tests appear normal, can there still be hidden risk? In ten per cent of cases like my young patient, it can. My own research has shown that this group harbours non-calcified or “soft” plaques that do not show up on a calcium scan. These softer plaques are less stable than calcified plaques and are more prone to rupture. Plaque rupture can trigger clot formation and lead to a heart attack. My patient underwent a CT angiogram, which uses a contrast dye injection, to detect soft plaque.
