Test to detect heart disease available in Merlin Park

A SIMPLE CT scan that can detect heart disease even before a patient experiences symptoms, is now available at Merlin Park Hospital in Galway. The calcification test can also predict if a patient will have a heart attack and is available based on a GP referral basis, at a cost of between €325 and €400. Calcification is the build-up of a fatty gooey plaque in the coronary arteries, which is believed to be the cause of 70 per cent of sudden heart attacks. A calcification test can identify if you have the plaque build-up or calcification that is a key indicator of heart disease even before symptoms occur. â€Å“Half of all heart attacks occur in people who did not know they had heart disease and almost half of them die from their first attack,â€Â said said Dr Orina Belton, Lecturer, School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science, UCD. According to UCLA cardiologist and Fellow of the American Heart Association, Dr Matthew Budoff; â€Å“The calcification test is the most powerful predictor of a future heart attack, more so than all other traditional tests combined. â€Å“In addition, studies have revealed that showing patients the damage caused by calcification leads to better adherence to medication and lifestyle changes that improve their heart health. And yet, many people have not heard about it because there is faint appreciation among the medical profession for the test.â€Â Cardiovascular disease, which includes stroke and other inflammatory conditions, is the most common cause of death in Ireland, accounting for 10,000 (or 36 per cent of) deaths each year. A new charity, Irish Heart Disease Awareness (IHDA), has been launched to raise awareness of heart disease as a detectable, progressive and manageable disease that can be detected by the calcification test. Irish Heart Disease Awareness has launched a new website, www.ihda.ie, where the public can access information on heart disease, watch the RTE Heart of the Matter documentary, and hear further expert-led advice on best-practice heart disease management. The charity is encouraging those with concerns about their heart health to visit their doctor to find out more about the calcification test.