EBT Heart Scan

Heart disease is the leading all cause killer of Americans and, with early detection, can be effectively treated. The EBT Heart Scan is the most accurate, most validated technology and the lowest radiation option for heart disease screening. Front Range Preventive Imaging is the only facility in Colorado offering the EBT Heart Scan. 

Simply put, the EBT heart scan is 3 times the accuracy of other heart scans and has 66% less radiation exposure.  That’s why it is called “The Gold Standard” of coronary calcium imaging. 

The EBT is so fast that it can take pictures of your heart in between heart beats. This is partially why the EBT is the most accurate screening technology available for detecting coronary calcium or plaque.  The EBT can detect calcium or plaque in and around your coronary arteries at very early stages.  All you do is to lay down on a table, full clothed, hold your breath for a few seconds and you are done.  It is really that easy. 

If you are a man, age 40 or over,  or a woman age 50 or over, without risk factors, we suggest that you get a baseline heart scan.  If you have any conventional or non conventional risk factors, it is recommended that you get a baseline heart scan sooner.  These risk factors are things like (high blood pressure, high cholesterol, tobacco consumption, diabetes, family history or  occupational stresses. Non conventional risk factors are things like sleep apnea or gum disease, to name a few. 

If you also have a significant exposure to smoking (past or present smoker, passive, etc.) or other known carcinogens, we advise the combination heartscan-lungscan (see lung screening).  Lung screening can find potential problems much early than traditional chest x-rays. 

Pricing specials stated in video are no longer available, please call Front Range for current specials. 

The EBT heart scan machine has a weight restriction of less than 300 pounds.

Our aim is to decrease the number of heart attacks and other coronary events by identifying early those individuals who have heart disease and providing them with a proven means to accurately access their treatment progress.

In order to accomplish this mission we use breakthrough medical technology, unique to the Rocky Mountain region, for the early detection of heart disease… by far, the most important health issue impacting adult men and women in the United States.

Getting a heart scan by Electron Beam Tomography (Ultrafast CT, or EBT) is a major advance in detecting the early signs of heart disease (atherosclerosis or plaque) long before symptoms develop. Providing information safely, quickly and non-invasively, this revolutionary imaging technology is extremely accurate and sensitive. It is considered the “Gold Standard” of screening tools in revealing early coronary atherosclerosis, or heart disease.

Studies in the medical literature show that measuring coronary calcium (plaque) by EBT Coronary Calcium Imaging is more consistently predictive of heart disease than any other of the risk factors, combined. This is important because, for 65% of  people, the first and only symptom of  heart disease is sudden death. Fortunately, the progression of coronary plaque, once detected, can be significantly halted (or even reversed) with proper medical and life style management.

So, if the question comes up as to “should you get a heart scan?”,  the answer is a resounding “Yes!”.  We recommend a baseline heart scan for every male over the age of 40 and every female over the age of 50.  If you have risk factors, and especially a close family history of heart disease or high stress, then you might want to get one sooner.

Remember, it does not matter how fit you are, how much you exercise, how good your diet or how great (or bad) your cholesterol is.  Everyone is at risk for heart disease until proven otherwise by their EBT Heart Scan.

Heart Disease is Our Number One Medical Problem

Coronary heart disease or atherosclerosis is the leading cause of death among American adults.  Every year, approx. 715,000 people have a heart attack and approximately 600,000 die.  Of these people, 525,000 are first attacks.  Statistically, these figures have not changed appreciably since 1900.                                              (Data: CDC 2010 figures) 

Current Methods to Find Risk Don't Work Very Well

 If conventional risk factors worked, it would be logical to assume that annual coronary deaths would be going down.  They are not. Individuals who are actually at high risk most often seem healthy.

Millions of Americans will suffer a sudden or fatal heart attack even though they have:

• Excellent, Good, Average or “Unremarkable” Cholesterol Levels
• Great Blood Pressure and No Diabetes
• Never Smoked
• Excellent Diets and Exercise Regimens
• Pass a Stress Test or Treadmill Test.
• No Conventional Risk Factors

Early Warning

EBT heart scans provide an early warning system. For over 65% of Americans, the first and only sign of heart disease is a fatal heart attack.  EBT heart scans are able to find coronary calcium, or plaque, at very early stages, long before an event happens or surgical intervention is needed.  At these early stages sometimes all that is needed is small modifications in diet and/or exercise and proper nutritional supplements. 

Early Detection Saves Lives

Early detection leads to better outcomes. The earlier plaque, heart disease, atherosclerosis is detected, the greater chance it can be slowed, stopped or possibly even reversed.  Yes, reversed. 

"Get a Scan, Know Where You Stand"

I Feel Fine and I Don't Have Any Symptoms Like Chest Pain

Studies have shown that 50% of people who get a heart attack had no prior symptoms and 65% do not survive their first encounter with a heart attack! 

My Doctor Said I Don't Need The Test Because He/She Can Tell My Risk Level

Wrong! Your doctor only has a very general idea of your risk by using conventional risk factor assessment. Studies have proven that decisions about lifelong cholesterol lowering therapy will be wrong about 40% of the time without a heartscan. Would your doctor discourage a middle aged female from getting a mammogram?

Another way to think about this: Imagine if you hurt your arm and thought it might be broken.  You go to your doctor to find out.  Your doctor tells you he is going to do a blood test on you and to come back in a week and he will tell you if your arm is broken or not.  What would you think??    Exactly.

Using “conventional risk factors” to determine heart disease risk was great when they were all that we had.  These risk factors were okay as “Guess-timates”.  They are very far from perfect as evidenced by the fact that statistically, the number of heart attack deaths has not changed since 1900 in the American population.  In other words, we have the same percentage of Americans dying of heart attacks today, in 2014 as we did in 1900.

We now have the EBT technology to find out who has heart disease by looking at their heart.  One doesn’t need a medical degree to see that this makes more sense than looking at blood particles.  The way to see who has heart disease is to look at their heart.  The best way to look at your heart is with an EBT Heart Scan.  It is really just that simple.

My Insurance Company Will Not Pay For The Test

At this point in time, no insurance companies cover the cost of a heart scan.  There was also a time when insurance companies didn’t cover mammograms, bone density scans, or prostate screenings either.  Many insurance companies are not enthused about preventive measures aimed at lowering risks for heart attacks that may occur 10 years from now.  Hopefully this will change as it did with other preventive screening procedures. Sometimes, making a personal investment in your own health is necessary, just as we pay for regular car maintenance to prevent future problems.

I Heard The Heart Scan Does Not Detect Whether I Have Major Blockage

 Correct.  Heart scans are about finding plaque long before any blockages occur.  Contrary to what many of us believe, the majority of heart attacks occur because unstable plaque ruptures, not because there is a blockage. Two thirds of heart attacks occur when there is no significant blockage.. no stress test can find that out!  

My Doctor Said "No-one Knows What to do With Results" or "They Only Measure Calcified Plaque" or "The Test is Not Accurate or Specific", etc, etc.

Unfortunately, this is a very uninformed physician. Send us the physician’s name.  We will send them a complimentary set of the CDs “Heart Matters – Beyond Cholesterol” and “Heart Scans.”  If that doesn’t work, we suggest you change your physician. 

Listen to Your Symptoms

If you have any symptoms like chest pain or shortness of breath, see a doctor immediately even if your score is zero.  Symptoms, especially in women, may be different than what we usually expect.  Things like dizziness, unexplained fatigue, profuse sweating, and insomnia are some of the other things that could indicate heart disease or a heart attack. 

Context

Consider your results in the context of all of your risk factors.  The 2 most consistent and most accurate risk factors for heart disease are family history and stress. There are many uncommon risk factors as well, such as gum disease and sleep apnea. 

Professional Review

Bring your results to your doctor as he/she is in the best position to understand your entire medical situation. In most cases, if you have moderate or more extensive plaque or more plaque than 70% of others your age, you should be considered for treatment with plaque stabilizing medications (statins) even if your cholesterol is average. If you have a complex cholesterol abnormality, there are lipid specialists who would be glad to consult with you. 

Self Referred?

A physician referral is not required for an EBT heart scan.  We will contact you  directly with your results if you have a score that puts you above the 70% for your age and gender.  We do encourage you to share your results with your doctor as he/she is in the best position to understand your entire medical situation. 

Positive Results

Anything above a calcium score of  zero is considered a positive score. Scores range from 0 to the highest we have ever seen was 10,000.  About 2/3 of Americans do have scores of 0.  Scores between 1-10 are considered “Minimal” plaque burden. Scores 11-100 are considered “Mild”, 101-400 are “Moderate”, and anything over 400 is considered “Extensive” plaque burden. 

Severe Plaque?

If you have severe or extensive plaque (over 400), and especially if you are under 65, you might consider a visit with a preventive-oriented cardiologist who understands our EBT heart scan. In some cases, a stress imaging procedure might be appropriate to search for hidden narrowing. If you do not have chest pain, it is likely that your stress test will be normal. A normal stress test in a patient with extensive plaque still means you are at higher risk and need medications like statins and/or ACE inhibitors.  That said, not everyone with a score over 400 needs to rush off to see a cardiologist.  This is why it is important to have an informed physician on board. 

What's the Best Thing I Can Do for Heart Health?

If you have a positive calcium score, one of the most helpful things you can do is to make sure you are taking the right kinds and right amounts of heart supportive supplements.  Some of the key supplements that have been supported in the medial literature are:  Omega 3 fatty acids (EPA & DHA), nicotinic acid, and vitamin D3.  Very often a low-dose, water-soluble statin medication or a bile acid sequestrants prescription from your physician may also be needed.  Adding more dark colored fruits and vegetables to your diet, along with a minimum of 40 minutes walking 3 times per week has also been shown in the medical literature to be effective in stabilizing plaque. 

Why Get a Second Heart Scan?

"The only heart scan more important than your first heart scan is your second heard scan" -Dr. Bill Blanchet

Your First Heart Scan Tells You If You Have Heart Disease

This is the best way there is to find out. An EBT heart scan is 10 times more predictive of heart attack risk than all conventional risk factors combined. 

Your Second Heart Scan Tell  If Your Treatment For Stopping Heart Disease is Working

If your Calcium Volume Score from your previous heart scan has not increased by more than 14% in 12 months, your plaque is considered stable and you have dramatically reduce your risk of having a heart attack regardless of your calcium score or your cholesterol numbers. 

What Are The Two Scores

--Calcium Volume: This is your score for you. It is used as your baseline. This is the score that we track to determine regression, stability, or progression of your heart disease.

--Agatston Score: A calculated score showing where you stand in relation to others in your age/gender group.

Studies have proven that for individuals with discernible plaque, the situation worsens yearly by about 35% – 40% on average if left untreated. However, in most cases, when treated, the process of atherosclerosis or the growth of new plaque can be slowed, stabilized or even reversed. The definition of a stable calcium score is “a score than does not increase by more than 15% in one year.”

Should I Repeat the Heart Scan?

 In general, if your scan results are higher than zero, a repeat scan may be recommended at one year. It is the only way to monitor whether there is progression (worsening), stabilization or regression (improvement) in your coronary situation. 

Use the Same Type of Scanner!

 Note: ALWAYS use the same type of scanner for repeat heartscans. If your first scan was on an EBT scanner, it would be almost impossible for us to make any judgments if your second scan was on a mechanical spiral (helical) scanner…so beware of the differences.

Only an EBT scan has the accuracy to be able to compare scans on a yearly basis.  64-slice or helical scans have so much scan variability, that one must wait about 4 years between scans to get any meaningful comparison data.

"No one knows what to do with a calcium score"

There is a wealth of published clinical data available on the relevancy and correlation of coronary calcium and heart disease.  Dr. Blanchet has produced a CD entitled “Heart Scans”, which summarizes current medical data, as well as his own results,  regarding managing positive calcium scores in his patients.  Interestingly, it mostly involves proper nutritional supplements and other simple lifestyle modifications.  Dr. Bill Davis, cardiologist, has written a popular book, “Track Your Plaque” which also discusses this topic. 

This, and the other CD in the series “Heart Matters”, “Beyond Cholesterol”, explains everything we need to know about heart disease detection and management, and even reversal, in an easy to understand, engaging format.  Guidelines and recommendations  published on what to do with calcium scores are readily available to help both patients and physicians make effective decisions on management of known heart disease based on calcium scoring. Front Range Preventive Imaging continually provides this type of relevant information to patients and physicians. 

"Heart scans measure only calcified plaque, but the unstable plaque that may rupture is usually non-calcified"

 This is true, and this is why a baseline heart scan for everyone is crucial to the detection and treatment of heart disease.  Your first heart scan tells you if you have heart disease or not.  Your second heart scan tells you if the plaque that you have is calcified (stable), or if it is unstable or non-calcified.

How does the second scan do this?  If a positive calcium score does not increase by more than 15% in a 12 month period, then the existing plaque is stable and is very unlikely to rupture.  If a positive calcium score increases by more than the 15% annually, the plaque is considered unstable or growing and may have the potential to rupture and cause problems.  Basically, the only heart scan more important than your first one is your second one.

"There are false positives with heart scans"

This is wrong. There are few, if any, false positives with a heart scan.  This idea was initiated by physicians who were not familiar with heart scans.  When their patients came to them with positive calcium scores, the “knee-jerk” reaction was to send the patient for an immediate stress test.  The patient would pass the stress test and the physician would say the heart scan was a false positive.  Many people, some of them very famous, had fatal heart attacks shortly after a scenario such as this.  Their heart scan shown they had potentially dangerous plaque.  The stress test merely showed they had good blood flow. 

"The heart scan is experimental, unproven and new"

The technology has been used at universities and hospitals since the mid-1980s. There are several hundred articles in various medical journals demonstrating the accuracy and utility of this procedure. Many of the world’s leading universities and heart hospitals routinely scan individuals with the Gold Standard, Electron Beam Tomography (EBT) scanner.  There are data banks referencing the results of millions of heart scans.  And, if this is not enough, just ask someone whose life was saved because they got an EBT heart scan. 

"There is usually nothing you can do with the results unless it is really severe"

 This too is very wrong.  Knowledge is powerful.  A calcium score of zero provides a sense of relief and well-being that your life style is supportive of good heart health.  Any score greater than zero can be looked at as even better news because you now have the opportunity to be proactive in stopping and even reversing your heart disease.

There are supplements and medications available that can stabilize plaque and lower risks of ever having a heart attack. Some people will need more attention to other life style modifications such as diet, exercise, sleep, gum disease, etc.  Whatever the score, the goal is stability.

Electron beam (ultrafast) computed tomography (EBT or EBCT) is a revolutionary approach to imaging, achieving acquisition speeds over 4 times faster than the fastest helical CT equipment (which rely upon mechanical rotation of x-ray tubes).Utilizing a magnetically deflected electron beam and a stationary source-detector pair, EBT employs the latest advances in target metallurgy, vacuum science and fiber optics in order to obtain high resolution images of moving objects. Obtaining scans in 1/10 or 1/20 second, it is perfectly designed to evaluate moving structures like the heart and large surface areas (like the colon) during a single breath-hold.

Designed originally for heart imaging, EBT has been available at major university hospitals and imaging centers worldwide for many years and is FDA approved for coronary calcium imaging, lung scanning, noninvasive coronary angiography (EBA) and CT colonography. The radiation exposure from EBT is much lower than from spiral CT examinations, especially to potentially “radiosensitive” structures in the front of the body.

 Front Range Preventive Imaging (FRPI) employs only extensively validated and  FDA approved technology, with the most advanced software for each service. That is why we have invested in Electron Beam Tomography, the undisputed Gold Standard in noninvasive coronary imaging.

People should be aware of the trend  to use higher radiation spiral or helical CT scanners when imaging the heart.  These scanners typically have 3 times the radiation exposure and 1/3 the accuracy of an EBT scanner.

Doctors associated with FRPI have been practicing in Colorado for many years and remain committed to offering gold standard technology that is FDA approved for its clinical uses.

 Front Range Preventive Imaging uses Electron Beam Tomography (EBT), the only extensively proven technology able to perform accurate coronary artery imaging and quantify coronary calcium. “Spiral or Helical CT” scanners are also used for calcium imaging. Spiral scanners cannot acquire images fast enough to prevent blurring due to the cardiac motion that occurs continuously. Studies have proven that spiral/helical scanners frequently mischaracterize patients as scores generated by these scanners are not necessarily accurate. In addition, the radiation dosage from such scanners is at least 3X higher than EBT, often more depending on the protocol being used.

The EBT scanner is FDA approved and was developed as a cardiac imaging tool in the early 1980’s. It is available worldwide at leading preventive heart centers like the Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, and UCLA.  EBT is considered the “gold standard” in coronary calcium imaging.

There are  hundreds of articles in the cardiology literature discussing EBT.   The coronary calcium score measured by EBT has been proven to be a powerful predictor of future coronary events and has been shown to be able to monitor the progression, stabilization or reversal of atherosclerosis. No similar proof of accuracy occurs with any other type of scanner.

 Whenever possible, get a coronary scan from an EBT machine.  If that is not possible, know that any heart scan is better than no heart scan at all.

It is especially important that your previous scan by EBT is not followed by a scan from another technology. No physician will be able to interpret the score differences between two scans from two different scanners.  To interpret rate of disease progression or improvement you will need 12 months between scans done on an EBT scanner and 4-5 years between scans done on 64 slice helical scanners.

If you are concerned about radiation dosage, EBT has the lowest radiation exposure.  It is 0.7 mSv, which is the same as the exposure for a mammogram.

 “Despite a very common misconception, heart disease kills a higher percentage of women than men. Heart disease is the number one cause of death in women. 7 times more women die of heart disease than breast cancer. One of the reasons for this, is that in women, typical risk factors are particularly non-beneficial in predicting who is going to have a heart attack.

The MESA Heart Study showed that 2/3 of women who were at highest risk for heart attacks were actually considered low-risk when using conventional risk factors. However, when you consider the presence or absence of coronary calcium as found and measured by an EBT Heart Scan, these women were re-classified appropriately based on their real risk.”

An EBT heart scan can change your future. Heart disease kills more women than all forms forms of cancer combined. The EBT heart scan is the most  effective toll we have at finding and measuring plaque in your coronary arteries.  It can also determine if that plaque is growing or shrinking over time, allowing your doctors to adjust treatment accordingly without invasive procedures. If you are a woman over 50, Dr. Blanchet recommends an EBT heart scan. 

 “In my practice, I feel that any woman over the age of 50 should have an EBT heart scan because it is finding the disease that is more likely to kill them than all cancers combined. Heart disease kills 7 times more women than breast cancer. So, if we do an EBT heart scan on a woman age 50,  and base treatment on the presence or absence of coronary disease, or plaque, we will do a dramatically better job of finding out who needs to be treated, and treat them appropriately.

The next thing is to find out when someone has a positive calcium score is if we are treating their heart disease sufficiently to stop the disease. We find this out by doing a second EBT heart scan one year to three years later and compare it to the previous scan. If the calcium plaque burden is growing, then we know that we are not treating accurately to stop the disease and need to expand what we’re doing.

As a result of my current practice using the calcium imaging, and treating it to the point that the calcium stops growing, I have seen a dramatic reduction in the instances of heart attacks, strokes and coronary disease in my practice.  In fact, I have had no sudden heart attack deaths in my patients for over 8 years.

I would once again encourage any woman over the age of 50, or any woman with a family history of heart disease or who has high stress, to get a heart scan.  You can change your future.” -Dr. Bill Blanchet

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“CORONARY ARTERY SCANNING IS THE BEST TOOL TO QUANTIFY THE AMOUNT OF PLAQUE IN THE CORONARY ARTERIES.”
Bruce Brundage, MD
Bend Oregon
Former Chief, Division of Cardiology, Harbor-UCLA 

"THIS IS VASTLY MORE ACCURATE THAN ANY OTHER AVAILABLE WAY OF IDENTIFYING APPARENTLY HEALTHY PEOPLE WHO ARE AT RISK FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE. OUR FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT THIS COULD BECOME THE PRIMARY SCREENING TOOL FOR CORONARY DISEASE.”
Alan Guerci, MD
Professor of Cardiology, Columbia
Director of Research, St. Francis Hospital, NY 

“ULTRAFAST CT SCANNING IS THE BEST TEST WE HAVE RIGHT NOW TO IDENTIFY HIGH RISK INDIVIDUALS.”
Daniel Rader, MD
Director of Preventive Cardiology and Lipid Referral Center
University of Pennsylvania Medical Center 

“ONE OF THE REASONS I EVER GOT INVOLVED WITH CORONARY SCANNING IS TO TAKE MY GROUP INTO THE 21ST CENTURY.”
Robert Roberts, MD
Chief of Cardiology, Baylor College of Medicine 

“WE ARE GOING TO SEE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT OF CORONARY ARTERY SCANNING IN THE EVALUATION OF PATIENTS, IN PARTICULAR IN ASYMPTOMATIC INDIVIDUALS WHO NEED TO BE AGGRESSIVELY TREATED.”
John Rumberger, PhD, MD
Professor of Medicine, Ohio State (formerly Mayo Clinic) 

“THE FACT THAT WE CAN ACCURATELY TELL PATIENTS THAT THEY DO NOT HAVE CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE IS A MAJOR BREAKTHROUGH.”
Alan Wasserman, MD
Chairman, Department of Medicine, The George Washington University Medical Center 

“ONCE EBT GAINS THE ACCEPTANCE THAT IT DESERVES, IT WILL REVOLUTIONIZE THE TREATMENT OF CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE.”

“KNOWING THAT CORONARY CALCIUM IS PRESENT BY SEEING IMAGES OF THEIR OWN ARTERIES APPEARS TO PROVIDE A POWERFUL MOTIVATION TO PATIENTS TO STOP SMOKING AND CHANGE DIET AND EXERCISE HABITS.”

Randolph Patterson MD
Professor of Medicine and Radiology, Emory University School of Medicine