Patient information:

Coronary Artery Calcium Scoring (CACS) is a method to image and quantify calcification within the coronary arteries.  It looks for signs of Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) due to the build-up of calcium inside fatty deposits (or atherosclerosis, also called plaque) in the coronary arteries. 

This technique involves the use of an ECG-gated CT scan and does not require any medicines or intravenous x-ray contrast (dye).  

With a few breath holds, images of the coronary arteries are taken. Using sophisticated software, the amount of calcium in your coronary arteries from the images is measured, and a score (CAC Score) is calculated from the amount of calcium present.  The calcium score is then compared to a reference range for the population of your age and gender, giving a relative risk of developing symptoms of coronary artery disease compared to that of the rest of the population. 

CACS does not replace functional testing like Exercise Stress Echocardiography, Exercise Tolerance Test or invasive coronary angiography.  It stratifies the risk of coronary disease and this can help with the management of coronary artery risk factors.