Doctors discourage repeat calcium heart scans

Adding to recent controversy about CT heart scans, a new report says doctors shouldn't be doing so-called repeat calcium scans on a routine basis.

Such scans reveal buildup of calcium in the heart's arteries, which has been tied to heart disease, and they are becoming increasingly popular as screening tools in apparently healthy people. (See Reuters Health story of October 25.)

Repeating scans over time in the same person, researchers have argued, would give doctors an even better idea of how that person's heart is doing by tracking growth and changes in calcified areas.

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