Life Line screening, hokhum or worth it?

[old head]

Got a notice that Life Line Screening will be in my area in a week or so.

Question is, can they actually screen for plaque with a scan.  I thought to really see they had to do inject dye while taking pics of the heart to see how much the arteries were blocked.

that's how they checked my mom's heart a few months ago, we got to watch, pretty cool to see how that worked.  Seems odd that a heart doc would do something as invasive as a heart cat, if a scan would do the same thing.

Price seems reasonable.  Of course, you usually get what you pay for.

Old Head

[wrbix]

Doppler duplex is a reasonable imaging modality for carotid and peripheral vascular occlusive disease (not coronary/heart) - especially in early screening stage.
I've wondered though if these mass screenings might have a higher false positive rate - they are backed by vascular surgeons who get the referrals for positives.
If symptoms suggest a study then your doctor should be able to order the same tests with Insurance coverage of cost.

[Cam Lay]

The Goddess is family medicine, not cardiology, but ran me through something similar a few years back. Right before we got married... Hmm...

She considered it money well spent. Results came back with near-zero plaque (likely due to my very healthy diet of mostly coffee and fingernails).

YMMV, but she considers it good info and legit, at least at the outfit that did mine.

[kingoffleece]

I go every year and have for many years.  Family Doc says it's worth it.

[Robert Sylvester]

They found a thyroid problem for my wife who has had "regular checkups" for years.  after showing our regular Dr. he confirmed and now she takes a tiny little pill in the morning. Made a world of difference. Money well spent.