Coronary Artery Calcium (CAC) Score
Assessment Stage: Advanced Investigation
Included in Future Health Assessment: No – Recommended where clinically appropriate
Partner: Lumus Imaging / I-MED Radiology
Provider: Accredited CT imaging provider
Approximate Cost:$195
What is it?
A Coronary Artery Calcium (CAC) Score is a specialised low-dose CT scan that measures calcium deposits within the coronary arteries.
Calcium is a marker of atherosclerotic plaque, allowing the scan to estimate the burden of coronary artery disease before symptoms develop.
What does it measure?
Gut microbial diversity
Relative abundance of bacterial species
Microbial balance
Functional bacterial pathways
Overall microbiome health
Why is it important?
CAC is one of the strongest predictors of future:
Heart attack
Coronary artery disease
Cardiovascular mortality
It often identifies coronary artery disease before symptoms occur and helps determine whether cholesterol-lowering medication is likely to provide meaningful benefit.
Who may benefit?
Adults with:
Intermediate cardiovascular risk
Elevated ApoB
Elevated Lipoprotein(a)
Strong family history of heart disease
Uncertain need for statin therapy
What happens during the scan?
The scan takes approximately 10 minutes.
No injections or contrast are required.
Preparation
No preparation is usually required.
Advantages
Very low radiation
Fast
Strong evidence base
Excellent cardiovascular risk prediction
Improves treatment decisions
Limitations
Does not detect soft (non-calcified) plaque.
Not appropriate for emergency chest pain assessment.
Not routinely recommended for very low-risk individuals.
How Future Health uses this investigation
CAC complements:
ApoB
Lipoprotein(a)
Blood pressure
Fitness
Lifestyle assessment
to personalise cardiovascular prevention.
Future Health Summary
CAC scoring is one of the most powerful imaging tools available for assessing future cardiovascular risk and guiding personalised prevention.