More than 1.2 million Americans will have a first or repeat heart attack this year and about 450,000 of them will die. Coronary artery disease, the country’s single leading cause of death, normally occurs in middle-age or older adults, but recently younger people are having more diagnosed heart disease and heart attacks. While many factors contribute to heart disease – hereditary risks, age and sex, lifestyle issues play a major role in the onset of disease. High blood pressure, tobacco use, high blood cholesterol, physical inactivity, overweight and obesity and diabetes are risk factors for heart disease.
If a patient is at higher risk, there are many imaging tests that can help diagnose the problem at an early stage so that treatment can begin. Atlanta Radiology employs specialty trained radiologists who can interpret these tests, using the most advanced state-of-the-art equipment – CT, MRI and ultrasound - at our hospital partners’ inpatient and outpatient locations.