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Neck can provide heart disease clues

From Morton Plant Mease Health Care

Carotid Intima-Media Thickness, or CIMT, measuring machine uses ultrasound to detect any buildup of plaque in arteries. The wand is placed against the artery in a person's neck.

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By Carl  Orth | The Suncoast News

Published: June 23, 2009

Updated:

TRINITY - If arterial disease became a pain in the neck, it might be easier to detect.

But a patient's neck can now give early warning signs of possible heart disease, thanks to a device Dr. Eric Crall has been utilizing at his Trinity office since March.

Crall, a Morton Plant Mease physician, presses a wand against a patient's neck, which provides a snapshot of any plaque buildup in arteries.

Crall thus can detect early warning signs of future heart disease long before any symptoms are present. The noninvasive 5-minute test is painless and relies on ultrasound, so no radiation is involved.

All too often traditional heart screenings might not indicate heart disease until it is too late, particularly among women. According to the American Heart Association, nearly two-thirds of women who die suddenly of heart disease had no previous symptoms.

NASA scientists pioneered the technology that has been adapted for the heart disease diagnosis.

The ultrasound device measures carotid intima-media thickness, or CIMT. The measurement helps doctors detect small traces of plaque in the arteries, Anna Allen, a Morton Plant Mease Health Care spokeswoman, explained.

The intima is the innermost of the three layers of the arterial wall.

The CIMT measuring technology has been around in research labs the past 6 to 8 years, Crall observes, but only now are doctors beginning to appreciate the CIMT measuring device as a diagnostic tool.

That's because even tiny traces of plaque in the carotid artery in a person's neck can mean plaque could be building up in the arteries to the heart as well.

"If plaque is occurring anywhere in the body, it's occurring everywhere in the body," Crall elaborates.

Traditional exercise stress tests indicate blockage only after the artery is 40 percent to 50 percent blocked. So the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology are recommending CIMT test.

"It was life changing," Crall commented, for some patients who didn't even know of any possible problems before the CIMT ultrasound.

"It makes a big difference to motivate people" to exercise and diet in order to lower their risks of heart disease, Crall remarked.

"It gives people an arterial age," Allen said, which can be quite different from a person's chronological age. A patient 50 years old might have arteries with average thickness more akin to a person 60 years old, Allen said.

"The risk in women isn't appreciated as much," Crall added about heart disease.

Ordinarily, heart disease afflicts women about 10 years later than men, Crall observes. The estrogen hormone affords women some protection against heart disease.

But that's not written in stone.

Physicians in the past generally advise women age 50 or older and men age 40 and older to take traditional tests for heart disease. If there is a family history of heart disease, a patient should get test 10 years before the earliest case among family members.

So it's quite possible for women to develop problems in their 40s.

The cost of CIMT tests might be a stumbling block. Not many insurance companies are paying for the $175 procedure so far, Crall said. So the individual often must pay out of his own pocket for the diagnostic test.

With the downturn in the economy, some people might hesitate to get the test because of the expense, Crall noted.

Other people regard the price as "very reasonable" for the peace of mind, Crall said.

People interested in scheduling an appointment for the CIMT test can call 727-375-0601.

Trinity Family Medicine is at 2044 Trinity Oaks Blvd, Suite 130, within the Trinity Medical Arts Building. Crall also goes into greater detail about heart disease online at http://www.myspace.com/knowyourrisk.

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