What is HeartCam?
HeartCam is a safe, simple FDA and AHA supported imaging system for the early detection of heart disease. It performs a non-invasive scan of the heart that can detect early signs of heart disease long before the patient experiences a single symptom. HeartCam uncovers the presence of coronary calcium, a proven "clinical marker" for coronary artery disease and utilizes a calcium scoring system to determine the level of risk.
What happens during the HeartCam procedure?
HeartCam is fast, easy and non-invasive. You don’t even have to undress. You only remove metal items that might interfere with the HeartCam (such as bra, belt, metal buttons). There’s no prep, no injected dye, no medication and no discomfort. A technologist attaches three EKG leads to your chest to establish a heart rate. While lying still on a table, you hold your breath while the technology produces images of the heart and coronary arteries. It takes just a few minutes to complete the scan. The machine is non-claustrophobic. It’s not like an MRI machine – it does not have an enclosed tunnel.
PLEASE NOTE: THERE IS A 300 LB WEIGHT LIMIT.
What will my scan results show?
The HeartCam scan shows the presence and quantity of coronary calcium, which is a marker for plaque, in the arteries of your heart. It also ranks you against a database of other people your age and gender to show if you have more or less or the same amount of plaque as other people your age (everyone develops plaque over time, the key is understanding if you are developing more than you should for your age).
To determine if calcium is present, the HeartCam technician uses calcium quantification software to calculate the total amount of coronary artery calcification from your heart scan. This is also known as a “Calcium Score”. University of Pennsylvania Health System cardiologists then verify the scan results and issue a report within 5 business days of your scan to the patient and the referring physician.
Your referring physician will discuss the results with you. They may simply educate you on risk factors for heart disease and how to lessen your risk with diet, exercise or medications to control your cholesterol. If your HeartCam scan does reveal a significant risk, you may be referred to a cardiologist for further evaluation. With early detection, coronary plaque can be slowed, stopped, or possibly reversed.
EBCT stands for “Electron Beam Computed Tomography”. It is also called EBCT or Electron Beam Tomography for short. The Electron Beam is what has turned this technology into the gold standard screening tool for cardiac risk assessment. That’s because the Electron Beam is ultra-fast – it acquires images more than 20 times faster than the traditional CT - and uses less radiation (READ MORE) than most MSCT’s. Total radiation is equal to just a couple of chest x-rays.
How does the EBCT scan differ from other CT scans?
You may see advertising for low cost $125 or $199 heart scans. Beware! Often these scans are performed on a machine called a MSCT or multi-slice CT scanner. MSCT can deliver very high radiation doses as it scans. On lower “slice” CT scanners (6 or 8 slice machines), the radiation can be as much as 10 times that of EBCT.
How does EBCT compare to the 64 slice scan?
A 64 slice scanner is a type of MSCT. While the 64 slice scanner has better spatial resolution than the EBCT, it has not been validated by clinical research and has high inter-scan variability. This means if you have repeat scans, the readings are not very accurate. This is important because plaque progression has been proven in clinical studies to be an important indicator of risk.
Doctors and Staff
Robin Hayes
Office and Client Services Manager
rhayes@phillyheartcam.com
215-662-8701
Linda Lafferty
Regional Sales Manager - Physician Relations
llafferty@phillyheartcam.com
610-357-4700
Joan Bradley
Regional Sales Manager - Physician and Labor Union Relations
jbradley@phillyheartcam.com
856-498-6907
Amanda Krasovec
Regional Marketing Manager - Labor Union and Corporate Accounts
akrasovec@phillyheartcam.com
215-662-5433
Ria Vasilchik
Regional Marketing Manager - Special Projects
rvasilchik@phillyheartcam.com
Daniel J. Rader, M.D.
HeartCam Advisory Board Director
Director, Preventive Cardiovascular Medicine and Lipid Research
Associate Professor of Medicine and Pathology
Associate Program Director, General Clinical Research Center
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dr. Daniel J. Rader received his undergraduate degree
from Lehigh University where he graduated summa cum laude and his medical
degree in 1984 from the Medical College of Pennsylvania where he also
graduated summa cum laude. He did an internship and residency in Internal
Medicine at the Yale-New Haven Hospital, where he stayed on for a year
as chief resident. Dr. Rader then went to the National Heart, Lung, and
Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda where
he spent a total of 5_ years involved in research in genetic factors influencing
lipoprotein metabolism. In 1994, Dr. Rader joined the faculty at the University
of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, where he is currently an Associate
Professor of Medicine and Pathology and Director of Preventive Cardiovascular
Medicine and Lipid Research. He is also Associate Director of the General
Clinical Research Center at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center.
Dr. Rader runs a basic research laboratory and participates in translational
and clinical research in the areas of lipoprotein metabolism, atherosclerosis,
and genetics. He also directs a large clinical program dedicated to the
early detection and prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease
and its risk factors.
Dr. Rader was elected to the American Society of Clinical
Investigation in 1999 and is an Established Investigator of the American
Heart Association and a recipient of the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Clinical
Scientist Award in Translational Research.
Dr. Rader has published over 100 articles in professional publications and has contributed over thirty book chapters, reviews and editorials on topics related to lipoproteins and atherosclerosis.
Douglas S. Jacoby, MD
HeartCam Medical Director
Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Director of Penn Cardiology Preventive Care, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center
Dr. Jacoby received his undergraduate degree and medical degree from Harvard University followed by an internal medicine residency and cardiology fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania. His board certifications include Internal Medicine, Cardiology, Lipidology and Nuclear Cardiology. His clinical expertise involves assessing and reducing an individual's future risk of a heart attack or stroke.Penn Cardiology at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center
Philadelphia Heart Institute, Suite 400
51 N 39th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
1-800-789-PENN (7366)
Penn Cardiology at Cherry Hill*
1400 East Route 70
Cherry Hill, NJ 08034
1-800-789-PENN (7366)
Paul Heubeck
Dick Rosene
Tiffany Vasilchik
The Preventive Heart Care Center is an independent facility run by partners Paul Heubeck, Tiffany Vasilchik and Dick Rosene. Together, Paul and Dick have over forty years of collective experience in diagnostic imaging and are dedicated to the early prevention of life-threatening diseases. Tiffany lends over 20 years of experience in marketing and business development.