By Dan Domsic
For a fraction of the cost of most doctor’s bills, people in Fishers can get a closer look at their heart’s health.
IU Health Saxony, 13000 E. 136th St., Fishers, is offering heart scans for $49. The procedure takes less than five minutes and could reveal a person’s risk of heart disease.
“It’s extremely powerful information for a very, very minimal cost,” Dr. Nathan Lambert, an interventional cardiologist with IU’s north central region, said.
According to Dr. Ed Harlamert, director of cardiology at IU Health Saxony, men ages 45 to 65 and women ages 50 to 65 get the most out of the scan, as well as folks that only go to the doctor when they’re already sick. But younger people may benefit as well.
He said people younger than 45 with multiple risk factors for heart disease such as high blood pressure, smoking and being overweight also gain something from the scan.
Harlamert said the test reveals a person’s calcium score (plaque calcifies or hardens in arteries). Because this malady is not completely linked with mortality, the test is not covered by insurance.
But the early warning is a benefit outweighed by the cost, Harlamert said.
He explained that doctors used to diagnose heart disease only after a heart attack occurred until stress testing came along, but stress tests only reveal a blockage once it has reached a “critical stage.”
The heart scan is administered through a computed tomography, or CT, scan, and patients don’t even have to change clothes and are not subjected to tight quarters like some imagine.
“It’s as easy as can be,” Lambert said.
To schedule a $49 Heart Scan call 962-3580. A consultation with a primary physician “to determine if the heart scan is right for you” is recommended on www.iuhealth.org.
