The same is true with cardiovascular disease. It may seem obvious but one of the best ways to find a problem with your blood vessels that could lead to a heart attack or stroke is to actually look at the blood vessels themselves.
Historically, the only way to measure what was going on inside a blood vessel was to inject some dye into the blood vessel and look at it with a special type of X-ray. This is still a good way to see what’s going on inside specific arteries such as the coronary arteries or the arteries for the kidneys.
However good that type of test is it still is relatively expensive and involves irradiation and an injectable dye. There some people who can’t undergo that test due to other health problems and allergies to the dye.
Trinity Medical Associates is pleased to announce that we now have another low cost test to help us see what’s going on inside the arteries of your body by using the large arteries of the neck (the carotid arteries) as a representative. This test actually measures the thickness of the artery wall, in tenth of a millimeter increments, as well as any cholesterol that has already accumulated. This is called the Carotid Intima-Media Thickness test or CIMT for short.
If you are interested in finding out about your arteries give our office a call to set up an appointment. The next day of testing will be December 8th at both the Knoxville and Maryville offices.
This test is offered on a fee for service basis and is not billable to insurance plans. The cost is $150.
Call 865-539-0270 to set up your appointment for your CIMT.