Heart health screening

jackboy

Got a letter through the door from Bluecrest Ireland which offers heart health screening for 150 Euro. I have been thinking about getting such screening done for a while as I am now over 40, have high cholesterol for years and have some family history of heart problems.

After some research I see that VHI also offer such screening for about 220 Euro.

So, has anyone tried these? Are they worth it? Are there any others out there offering such screening?

Already went down the GP route. Two GP’s said since I am thin and have normal blood pressure, the risks are very low and more tests are unnecessary. Unfortunately several men in the locality with similar profiles have dropped dead with heart issues which were ‘always there but undetected’. So check up is for piece of mind.

Tropheus

I got a Coronary Artery Calcium score done a few months back. It's basically a scan of your heart where they can see if there is any build up of calcium in your arteries. It's not widely known about and costs around €240 in the Mater Private. Other private hospitals do it also at varying prices. Most insurance companies won't cover it AFAIK.

I don't know why this simple 5 min scan isn't used more often rather than putting people on statins that have side effects and questionable benefits. I was on a statin for several years and got a score of zero. Therefore there is no sign of any calcification in my arteries. I stopped the statin and will get another scan to check progress in a couple of years time.

My GP gave me a letter to get it done. Lots of info if you do a Google.

wakka12

Yes get it done. I dont know why heart issues arent routinely tested for in the general population. You can get quick and easy tests that quite effectively assess risks for sudden cardiac death syndrome, and while its rare it still kills many people annually. I dont know why everyone doesnt just get it done once in their life at least, doctors can do so much to help with medications and pace makers once its known that you have it

Your weight and blood pressure are just two factors , cholesterol levels and family history are separate extremely important factors in cardiac health, Im surprised a doctor said you shouldnt get the test done.

Micky 32

Tropheus wrote: »

I got a Coronary Artery Calcium score done a few months back. It's basically a scan of your heart where they can see if there is any build up of calcium in your arteries. It's not widely known about and costs around €240 in the Mater Private. Other private hospitals do it also at varying prices. Most insurance companies won't cover it AFAIK.

I don't know why this simple 5 min scan isn't used more often rather than putting people on statins that have side effects and questionable benefits. I was on a statin for several years and got a score of zero. Therefore there is no sign of any calcification in my arteries. I stopped the statin and will get another scan to check progress in a couple of years time.

My GP gave me a letter to get it done. Lots of info if you do a Google.

I got this done along with a ct angiogram 3 years ago (45) and i got a zero, even though my father had a heart attack at 56. Even though nothing is 100% guaranteed a zero means you are low risk.

Wesser

wakka12 wrote: »

Yes get it done. I dont know why heart issues arent routinely tested for in the general population. You can get quick and easy tests that quite effectively assess risks for sudden cardiac death syndrome, and while its rare it still kills many people annually. I dont know why everyone doesnt just get it done once in their life at least, doctors can do so much to help with medications and pace makers once its known that you have it

Your weight and blood pressure are just two factors , cholesterol levels and family history are separate extremely important factors in cardiac health, Im surprised a doctor said you shouldnt get the test done.

What is the name of this test thst effectivly assess the risk for sudden adult death?

wakka12

Wesser wrote: »

What is the name of this test thst effectivly assess the risk for sudden adult death?

With my cardiologist he did a heart echocardiagram I think its called, its like an X ray that they do on pregnant womens stomachs. To check that valves were normal and heart structure was normal and there was no sign of cardiomyopathy. Then he made me hold some kind of sensor in my fingers that monitors the rhytm of your pulse to check for electrical abnormalities( such as brugada or long qt syndrome). Im no expert on this topic but my cardiologist thought this was enough to ensure I didnt have any kind of sudden adult death syndrome. I got this checked because I was having some high blood pressure readings even though Im very young and fit, but turned out to be just from stress

In the case of SADS your family history is one of the most significant risk factors, very often runs in families

I think you can get some more kinds of tests like checking heart rate whilst exercising, and pulse wave velocity to check the elasticity of your arteries but my cardiologist said I was too young to have any kind of Atherosclerosis

jackboy

wakka12 wrote: »

Yes get it done. I dont know why heart issues arent routinely tested for in the general population. You can get quick and easy tests that quite effectively assess risks for sudden cardiac death syndrome, and while its rare it still kills many people annually. I dont know why everyone doesnt just get it done once in their life at least, doctors can do so much to help with medications and pace makers once its known that you have it

Your weight and blood pressure are just two factors , cholesterol levels and family history are separate extremely important factors in cardiac health, Im surprised a doctor said you shouldnt get the test done.

Thanks. I think I will go for the VHI screening. See how that goes and will ask them about options regarding the various scans.

gazzer

Can you book one of these health screenings without a referral from a GP?

Wesser

An echo and an ECG do not outrule all causes of sudden adult death syndrome. Just so you are aware of the limitations of screening. It is not a yes / no test as you are describing it.

jackboy

Wesser wrote: »

An echo and an ECG do not outrule all causes of sudden adult death syndrome. Just so you are aware of the limitations of screening. It is not a yes / no test as you are describing it.

Yes this is true. Like all screenings it should pick up issues in a lot of cases but no guarantees. It will give piece of mind though which can be invaluable.

Wesser

but thats exactly my point.... it shoulnt really be giving you peace if mind........

Micky 32

Wesser wrote: »

but thats exactly my point.... it shoulnt really be giving you peace if mind........

Someone i know was having issues with a pain in his chest, got an ECG and it came out perfect and sent home. He died next day!

Echo’s are valuable though, shows any problems with the structure of the heart.

Wesser

Screening assymtomatic people is totally different to having an ECG if your having symptoms .

wakka12

Wesser wrote: »

An echo and an ECG do not outrule all causes of sudden adult death syndrome. Just so you are aware of the limitations of screening. It is not a yes / no test as you are describing it.

Theres no guarantees of anything in health. So nothing can truly give 'peace of mind' but knowing your heart electrical rhythm is normal, your heart structure is normal, having no symptoms or family history of SADS should give the average adult enough peace of mind

Micky 32

wakka12 wrote: »

Theres no guarantees of anything in health. So nothing can truly give 'peace of mind' but knowing your heart electrical rhythm is normal, your heart structure is normal, having no symptoms or family history of SADS should give the average adult enough peace of mind

Yes no guarantees but you know you're a low risk with good results...oops that was close i nearly got hit with that bus