A Coronary Artery Calcium (CAC) scan is a quick, painless CT scan — no dye required — that measures the amount of calcified, hardened plaque in the arteries around your heart. The result is your CAC score.
16
Apr
Not all fat is the same — and where your body stores it turns out to matter a lot more than how much you weigh. Have you ever noticed that two people can weigh exactly the same and be completely different when it comes to their health? That’s because weight alone doesn’t tell the whole story. Scientists have discovered that where your body stores fat is what really matters — and fat stored deep in your belly, called visceral fat, is in a league of its own when it comes to health risks.
Imagine your body is a giant, bustling city. For the city to work, it needs one massive main water pipe to carry energy and supplies to every single house. In your body, that "water main" is a giant tube called the aorta. Doctors call it the "Great Vessel" because it is the biggest and most important power line in your system.
For decades, doctors and runners shared a comfortable belief: if you ran marathons, your heart was bulletproof. This was known as the "Bassler hypothesis," the idea that finishing a 26-mile race gave you a "get out of jail free" card against heart disease. However, as modern heart scans improved, doctors were met with a shock. The very people who were the fittest on the planet—lifelong marathoners and cyclists—often showed more "rust" or buildup in their heart pipes (arteries) than people who sat on the couch.
If you woke up tomorrow and saw a strange mole on your skin or felt a painful lump in your neck, you probably wouldn’t ignore it. You would look at it, worry about it, and most likely call a doctor. That reaction is completely natural. As humans, we are wired to respond to things we can see and feel. Visible problems grab our attention and create urgency.