Arteries/calcium

[nelliebee]

Went to Papworth this morning as a follow up from a stay in hospital ( Blood clots on lungs and possible heart damage) was already for the c.t. scan,prepared for dyes etc. The nurse said we will give you a preliminary scan, and then said that a Doctor would give me betablockers and a spray under my tongue to open up the ateries for the scan. Waited about 5mins and then the nurse annouced that I could go home, when I questioned as to why the scan and everything else was not going to take place, she mentioned something about calcium and said that my consultant would let me know what was happening. I've actually come home quite concerned as I did not have the scan that I went for. Am I overly concerned?

[Sqad]

Bit of a confusing story............the whole problem may be purely administrative.
It sounds as though you were to have a coronary calcium scan.
This is to identify how much calcium that you have in your coronary arteries (if any at all) and this will gauge your chances of having a "heart attack."
The beta blockers are taken to slow the heart and give a better picture of the degree of calcification.

Yes.....you are overly concerned.

It may be that the machine wasn't working OR the Consultant hadn't turned up OR they decided that the investigation was not appropriate for some reason.

Don't worry....no big deal.

[nelliebee]

Thank you Dr Squad, I had never heard "calcium" mentioned before,........Today should have been a C.T. scan to check the heart. It was discovered in Jan that I have blood clots on the lungs ,and in turn this struggle for breath may have affected the heart, today was to see if the heart had returned to normal during these last few months. Thank you for your reassurance, I won't google Calcium/arteries, I may well scare myself!! Thank you once again. ( I still have the clots by the way and taking Warfarin)

[Sqad]

;-)

[nelliebee]

Sorry forgot to say, I did have the first scan and before they administered the dye, for the next procedure ,that's when they decided not to go ahead. Thank you.

[slaney]

You could have been booked for both types of scan, the CT calcium score (which does not involve any dye) first and a CT coronary angiogram second.

http://www.bhf.org.uk/heart-matters-online/december-january-2012/medical/imaging-techniques/ct-scans.aspx

It could be that they did not need to put in the dye or give beta blockers for the second scan, as the result of the first one (the Calcium CT score) was satisfactory.
But a doctor should have come out and explained it to you

[nelliebee]

Thank you both for your replies,very grateful you found time to put my mind at rest. and I will read the Heart foundation article you kindly supplied.