What is a CT Coronary Angiogram?

A lot of people are having these screening CT coronary angiograms. What's a CT coronary angiogram? So a CT scan of the heart arteries, which is essentially what a CT coronary angiogram is, is there to look for any evidence of furring or disease, so atheroma or atherosclerotic plaque build-up within the heart arteries. We can judge that whether different types of plaque, we can tell whether it's become calcified plaque and that really it gives you a good idea as to risk. So we put, we can calculate a score based on the amount of calcium there is in the heart, and put that into a risk calculator based on your age, ethnicity, and things like that to calculate your risk or your level of coronary disease compared to peers of your own age. And so you know, as a screening tool, it's useful because in my practice and a lot of people's practice, it helps change management. So if you have a CT scan and it shows that there's no disease in the arteries at all, that can be really reassuring. And if it shows that there is even some disease there, then arguably that would be the time to start a statin or something that can help retard the progression of coronary disease. And then of course, if in some circumstances, you might find significant disease in the arteries, where there's significant narrowings in the heart arteries, that then requires further tests, like a stress echo or perhaps an angiogram or a stent even. Thank you.