A year ago, James Morgan, M.D ., was part of the team of Alegent Health physicians sent to evaluate a new test—cardiac scoring. Using a special CT scan, the test measured the development of heart disease by taking an image of the coronary arteries. As each member of the team was tested, the scores returned in the range of zero to 68. Except for Dr. Morgan’s. His was 780. "That ruined my day," he says.
"I had slipped into a lot of bad habits," he admits. He had gained weight, his cholesterol was up and stress was constant: "I was someone who fussed a lot," he says. "I knew that one of these days it would catch up to me. I just thought it was about 15 years away."
Two days later, a heart catheterization found partial blockage of his left main artery. Less than a week after the test, Dr. Morgan had bypass surgery.
Today, Dr. Morgan has adopted a healthier lifestyle. He shed 40 pounds, his cholesterol has dropped by half and he has adopted a more relaxed attitude at work.
"HeartScan is one more weapon in our fight against heart disease," Dr. Morgan says. "In my case, it was an atomic bomb. I really consider it a lifesaving test."
