It is a quick and simple scan of your heart, which can help make a diagnosis or assess any health problems. It allows us to determine if there are any blocked or narrowed areas by build-up of plaque – an indicator for atherosclerosis or coronary artery disease.

When you contact one of our clinics to make an appointment for your scan, we will need a referral form from your doctor and this should include your latest blood cholesterol results so that we can complete the full risk calculation.  

To perform a good quality CT Coronary Calcium Score, your heart rate needs to be slow. Before your appointment, your doctor will need to have checked your heart rate and if necessary, arranged for you to take a beta blocker tablet for a day or so before the scan.  

Please note any instructions provided by our team at the time of making your appointment. You may be asked to do some, or all of the following: 

• No food for 4 hours 
• Stay hydrated - drink 250ml of water every 30 minutes for 2 hours before the scan 
• Take your medication as prescribed and please bring a list of your current medication 
• No alcohol, caffeine or tobacco for 12 hours prior (coffee, tea, chocolate etc.)  
• No performance enhancing drugs for 48 hours prior (e.g. Viagra, steroids) 

For patients attending our Mokoia clinic in Rotorua, the CT scan will take place at Rotorua Hospital, so you will need to go to the Radiology Department at Rotorua Hospital at the time of your appointment. 

When you arrive for your scan, the staff will get you changed into an examination gown and take your pulse and blood pressure, as well as your height and weight. They will ask you a few medical questions and explain what will happen during the scan. This is a good opportunity for you to ask any questions you may have. 

A radiographer will ask you to lie on a special bed. We will place sticky patches called electrodes on your chest so that the ECG can monitor your heart during the test. We can then trigger the scanner to take a picture at a certain point during your heartbeat. This gives us high-quality images of your heart. The bed moves through the scanner so we can take pictures of your heart and arteries. 

It can be difficult for us to get a clear picture if your heart is beating too quickly. We will check your heart rate when you arrive and if it is faster than the ideal rate, we may give you some medication to slow it down, probably a drug known as a beta-blocker. This may be in the form of a tablet or an injection. It is a good idea to ask someone to come with you to the appointment. The medication can take up to an hour to start working, but as soon as your heart rate is slower, we will perform the scan. You will probably not notice any side-effects from this medication, but it is important that you tell us if you suffer from asthma.  

We may also give you another medicine in a spray form or in a tablet form under your tongue just before the scan. This is to open the arteries in the heart as much as possible to make it easier to assess them on the scan. You might get a slight headache or feel a little dizzy from this.  

When you breathe, it can cause the image to blur. To help us get a clear picture of your heart, we will ask you to hold your breath for no more than 15 seconds at some point during the scan. We will practise this with you before your scan and go through exactly what you should expect during the procedure. 

You will be able to talk with the Radiographer between the scans and the whole scanning process. It is a quick and simple process and no cause for any worry. 

The scan itself should only take around 5-10 minutes. Please remember that we must prepare for the scan and may have to give you medication as described above. Please be prepared to stay for up to 60 minutes. 

No injection is needed to perform a CT Coronary Calcium Score. 

The amount of radiation used to perform a CT Coronary Calcium Score scan is small and kept to an absolute minimum. We are exposed to natural background radiation all the time from the ground and the atmosphere, and this test is equivalent to about 3 months’ worth of natural background radiation.  

Please ask if you have any questions and let us know if you are pregnant. 

When you are finished, you can get dressed and go. There will be no after-effects from the scan. 

Results of your scan are not available on the day of your examination. The images need to be interpreted by our Radiologist (a special doctor trained in imaging techniques) and a written report ·will be sent to the doctor who referred you. If we have received your cholesterol results, a full risk assessment calculation will be made and included in the report to your doctor.  

All questions regarding your results should be directed to your Doctor. 

To make an appointment, you can use our online booking system. Alternatively, please call our clinic directly. I-MED Radiology NZ performs CT Coronary Calcium Score scans at our Anglesea Imaging Centre, Anglesea CT / PET-CT, Mokoia & Fraser Cove clinics. 

Unfortunately, medical insurance companies do not currently cover the cost of a CT Coronary Calcium Score.