How is Heart Disease Detected?
Plaque in your heart's arteries can leave behind calcium as it heals. This calcium isn't a blockage—it's more like a trail showing where plaque has been. We can easily spot it on a CT scan because calcium shows up clearly on X-rays.
CT scans take hundreds of flat pictures and combine them into detailed 3D images of your body. When we add contrast dye, it becomes a CT angiogram, which lights up your blood vessels. It's like giving your doctor a 3D model of your arteries they can rotate and examine from every angle. CT angiography is less invasive than traditional angiography, which uses a catheter inside your blood vessels.
What is the PRE-EMPT study?
What’s next if I qualify for the PRE-EMPT study?
We will start the screening process to look for calcium in your heart arteries. Plaque in your heart's arteries accumulates calcium as it heals. This calcium isn't a blockage—it's more like a shadow showing where plaque has been for a while. We can easily spot it on a CT scan because calcium shows up clearly on X-rays. The riskier plaque has not yet calcified, called non-calcified plaque, and we can only see it with a coronary CT angiogram, not by the CAC scan. That is why we need both studies to know if you qualify.
CT scans take hundreds of flat pictures and combine them into detailed 3D images of your body. When we add contrast dye, it becomes a CT angiogram, which lights up your blood vessels. It's like giving your doctor a 3D model of your arteries they can rotate and examine from every angle.
It's easier on your body, too. CT angiography is less invasive than traditional angiography, which uses a catheter inside your blood vessels. Read more about the cardiac CT calcium score.
The PRE-EMPT treatment trial
Your Fitbit + Compensation
If you enroll in the PRE-EMPT treatment trial, you will receive personalized heart health information and tips for healthy living, such as the information included in these easy steps you can take to live a healthier lifestyle and these for active and mindful living.
Do I get to keep my Fitbit?
As part of PRE-EMPT, you'll receive a Fitbit, an easy-to-use device that tracks your physical activity, sleep, and heart rate, mailed to your home. It syncs with your smartphone to help guide healthy lifestyle changes.
Whether you have a question, want to share an update, or just check in, help is just a tap away. We will ask you to wear your Fitbit consistently during the study for reliable step counts and sleep data, and you will see this information regularly in the app. Also, the Fitbit is yours to keep at the end of PRE-EMPT.
Will I be compensated for my time?
You will be compensated for your time in completing the study steps. Although the study does not directly reimburse participants for transportation, childcare, or other miscellaneous costs associated with participating, the compensation should help cover most of your costs. We share these amounts with you in the informed consent form.
What else is involved?
Why PRE-EMPT matters and why you matter
Why does my participation matter?
We don't know if you will personally benefit from participating, but you will get heart disease screening and will be informed if we find anything unexpected or abnormal.
You may want to participate to help doctors learn how to care for younger adults who appear healthy but are at risk for an early heart attack or stroke. Imagine identifying and treating the root cause at age 35 or 45 and preventing a heart attack at 65. If successful, PRE-EMPT could redefine prevention and bend the curve on heart disease deaths.