Dr. Williams from ARA discusses heart health and the benefits of CT Calcium scanning.
Dr. Williams from ARA discusses heart health and the benefits of CT Calcium scanning.
Dr. Williams, a radiologist with ARA Diagnostic Imaging in Austin, Texas, discusses heart health and CT calcium scanning with KEYE-TV’s Trevor Scott on CBS Austin’s “We Are Austin.”
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Content
0.109 -> (upbeat music)
5.19 -> - Welcome back to "We Are Austin."
6.91 -> February is American Heart Month
9.35 -> and Dr. John Williams from
ARA Diagnostic Imaging
12.504 -> is here this morning with
really important information
15.66 -> for men and women about
coronary artery disease,
18.672 -> CT calcium scoring in a
really simple screening exam
22.91 -> that can let you know if you're
in danger of a heart attack.
25.93 -> So important. Good morning, Doctor.
27.54 -> Thanks for joining us today.
28.58 -> - Good morning, thanks for having me.
30 -> - Well, it's a really important topic.
31.66 -> So many people are at risk,
but let's start with you.
35.17 -> Tell us a little bit about yourself
36.44 -> and what you do there at ARA.
39.25 -> - I'm John Williams.
40.2 -> I'm one of our radiologists
41.64 -> at Austin Radiological Association.
43.86 -> My particular specialty is body imaging.
45.89 -> So I primarily interpret
x-rays, ultrasound,
49.87 -> CTs, and MRIs of the
chest, abdomen, and pelvis.
53.75 -> - Fascinating work, and so important too.
55.59 -> And today, we've brought you in to talk
57.54 -> a little bit about heart attacks.
59.15 -> And this really, frankly, amazing CT scan
62.328 -> that can help you know if
you're at risk, but first,
66.23 -> and I've learned a little bit about this
67.35 -> in my personal life recently,
what is a heart attack?
70.14 -> It can vary, and how do people know?
72.35 -> - So a heart attack effectively
is when you have a blockage
76.4 -> of the blood vessels that
feed the heart itself
79.2 -> with the oxygen and nutrients
81.03 -> that the heart needs
in order to do its job,
83.12 -> which is to pump blood
to the rest of the body.
85.41 -> And so
87.37 -> those blood vessels along the heart
89.81 -> are called the coronary arteries.
91.1 -> And what can happen is you can get plaque
92.7 -> that builds up in those arteries,
94.82 -> or ruptures, and then, causes an occlusion
97.33 -> or a blockage of those arteries.
99.26 -> So then, that area of the heart
100.58 -> that's typically supplied
by that coronary artery
104.06 -> to get the nutrients and oxygen
105.449 -> that it needs to function
to pump is compromised.
108.82 -> And so it's no longer able to,
111.3 -> it either has diminished function,
113.21 -> or just lack of ability
to function at all,
117.47 -> which causes the heart attack.
119.29 -> And that's whenever
people get the symptoms
121.12 -> of chest pain, et cetera.
122.82 -> - When you have conversations
about heart health,
124.56 -> you hear the word plaque a
lot. What exactly is plaque?
128.06 -> - So you can kind of think of plaque
129.28 -> as just little sticky pieces
of fat and cholesterol,
132.81 -> and oftentimes calcium that
are either along the lining
136.86 -> of the wall of an artery or in the artery,
140.32 -> the wall of the artery.
142.31 -> And when it's in the coronary arteries
144.55 -> that supply the heart,
145.44 -> it's called coronary artery disease.
147.53 -> And so the most common
cause of a heart attack
150.01 -> is when one of those
plaques basically ruptures,
153.03 -> and the contents go downstream
155.7 -> and cause the blockage in that artery.
157.31 -> - So how common then is
coronary artery disease?
161.73 -> - It's, unfortunately, very
common. It's very prevalent.
163.71 -> It remains the number one,
165.22 -> coronary artery disease
and heart attack remain
167.31 -> the number one cause of death
168.72 -> in both men and women in the United States
170.59 -> every year.
- Wow.
171.64 -> - And one of the problems
with this disease is
174.61 -> that you can have a significant,
177.64 -> or you can have this
disease, you're asymptomatic.
179.83 -> You don't know you have this disease
181.54 -> until you have one of these
plaques that ruptures
183.76 -> and then causes an event.
184.887 -> And so the challenge is then,
186.89 -> finding tools that we can
use to identify people,
189.15 -> to screen for this disease
and try to catch it
191.51 -> with the intent of preventing
192.91 -> any sort of those bad outcomes,
195.51 -> like a heart attack.
- Right.
196.83 -> - And so what we have in
radiology is this tool,
200.91 -> it's called a CT calcium scoring
202.94 -> or a CT cardiac screening exam
205 -> that helps us identify patients
prior to having an event.
208.93 -> - Yeah, that enters kind of
our hero of today's story,
211.55 -> which is the CT calcium scoring
213.03 -> because it's known as the heart saver.
215.51 -> Tell us a little bit more about that.
217.59 -> - Yeah, so it's a nice tool.
220.064 -> It's a CT. It's just a quick examination.
222.44 -> It's noninvasive, but we
don't even use contrast.
224.62 -> So you don't have to have an IV placed
226.27 -> or anything.
- Wow.
227.15 -> - The patient experience is,
228.23 -> basically they lie down on the table.
230.66 -> Images are acquired within
a matter of seconds.
232.91 -> And then, effectively,
their portion is done.
236.08 -> They go on about their day.
237.62 -> And then, what we do
is we take those images
239.79 -> that were acquired, and
then, review them visually,
244.07 -> and also, utilize some
software to basically identify
246.79 -> those calcified plaques
and kind of stratify
250.08 -> a patient's risk-based upon
if they have any plaque.
253.38 -> And if so, how much of
that plaque that they have.
257.86 -> - Wow, that's amazing to
think that just a few minutes
259.85 -> that it takes for this
procedure can be lifesaving.
262.75 -> So I'm curious,
263.75 -> can we see what plaque
looks like on a CT image?
267.6 -> And then, learn a little bit
268.73 -> about how you make your diagnosis?
270.83 -> - Absolutely, so we have
some examples here today,
273.79 -> representative images from
a CT calcium scoring study.
278.19 -> Our first image is kind
of what we want to see.
280.67 -> This is a patient that does not
have any evidence of plaque.
283.4 -> So in the center, this is all the heart,
286.01 -> and this kind of little
V-shaped area over here is,
290.97 -> that's actually the coronary artery.
292.57 -> And that's what it's
supposed to look like.
293.88 -> It's gray and doesn't have any
evidence of plaque within it.
297.26 -> The next image that we have
is someone who's developed
301.66 -> what we've categorized probably
303.01 -> as moderate volume of plaque.
305.35 -> And so you see that red circle,
307.48 -> and that's circling the
coronary artery there,
310.45 -> in the middle of that,
311.29 -> there's a white, kind
of a bright white spot.
314 -> And so that is the calcified plaque.
315.8 -> And so that's what's really
nice about this examination
318.847 -> is it makes it pretty easy
to be able to identify
321.79 -> the presence of that plaque.
323.51 -> And then, the next slide that we have
325.68 -> is someone that has a more
extensive amount of disease.
329.22 -> So all through that same area
in those coronary arteries,
332.03 -> all those little white dots
all throughout those vessels
336.2 -> are basically buildup
of those calcifications,
339.09 -> calcified plaques.
- Wow.
339.923 -> - And so this person,
341.01 -> this patient is going to
have extensive disease,
344.7 -> going to have a high risk of having
345.887 -> a significant coronary artery disease
347.63 -> that would result in a heart attack,
349.4 -> possibly in the near future.
350.91 -> The utility of this examination is
353.47 -> that we're able to provide that
information to the patient,
355.57 -> as well as their healthcare
provider so that they can then,
359.09 -> they know that and they can
decide and guide treatment
362.62 -> or intervention based upon that knowledge.
364.66 -> And it may be as simple as
just lifestyle modification
368.96 -> as far as diet and exercise,
371.06 -> maybe places them on medications
372.464 -> that control blood
pressure or cholesterol,
375.65 -> all the way up to
interventions that include
378.03 -> stenting of the coronary
arteries to keep them open
380.03 -> to allow blood flow
to prevent heart attack.
384.645 -> - Well, it's great to know
those next steps as well.
386.908 -> So some of us are walking around
389.16 -> with coronary artery disease.
390.77 -> You mentioned earlier that
sometimes it's asymptomatic.
393.09 -> So who is at risk and who really should be
395.3 -> looking closely at having
a CT calcium scoring?
399.01 -> - Yeah, you're right. Yes,
we said it's very common.
400.93 -> And basically, the primary
risk factors include obesity,
406.33 -> smoking again, diet, lack of exercise,
410.07 -> family history, and then, just simply age.
411.67 -> All of that being said,
412.99 -> even if you do not have
any of those risk factors,
415.65 -> there are studies and
guidelines that indicate
417.28 -> that patients 55 or over
420.2 -> would benefit from having
this examination performed
422.66 -> just as an early detection
tool and to gain the benefit.
426.35 -> - Absolutely, early detection
we speak of a lot with ARA,
429 -> and that is kind of the point.
430.21 -> So if someone is interested
432.01 -> and they fall in these categories,
433.26 -> they really kind of want to
know what's going on in there.
434.99 -> How do they take those steps
to get a CT calcium scoring?
438.62 -> - Sure, so yeah,
439.47 -> someone's sort of been
aware of these risk factors
441.25 -> and had a conversation with
their healthcare provider,
444.31 -> and it seems that this is
an appropriate examination,
446.99 -> based on age and risk factors,
448.69 -> typically they'll get a
referral from their provider.
451.98 -> And then, they contact ARA,
453.79 -> and we schedule an appointment
for them to come in
456.44 -> and have that CAT scan done.
458.68 -> - Well, this has been a really
fascinating conversation
461.1 -> and so important for people out there.
463.01 -> If they want to learn a little bit more
464.39 -> and to learn more about ARA,
466.03 -> where can we go for more information?
468.09 -> - So probably the easiest
way is to go to our website,
470.66 -> which is ausrad.com, A-U-S-R-A-D dot com.
474.88 -> And that has a lot of
great links on there,
477.03 -> informational items about this examination
479.84 -> and other examinations,
481.4 -> and some online scheduling
capabilities as well.
485.32 -> - Excellent.
486.153 -> Information and procedures
that save lives there at ARA.
489.22 -> Dr. Williams, thank you so
much for joining us today.
490.77 -> We appreciate it.
492.01 -> - Thank you for having me.
493.18 -> - Well, thank you so much.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBBCrzM353E