Steve’s first heart scan showed some coronary calcium. The scan also showed a small nodule on his lung. These “incidental” findings are not unusual with an EBT heart scan. Although the focus of the scan is the heart, the entire upper chest cavity is viewable. Sometimes other things show up. It was suggested that Steve consult a pulmonologist about the finding, which he did. Steve had been a smoker, but quit 20 years ago. He was assured, by the pulmonologist, that the nodule was “nothing to worry about, it was fine.”

Fortunately Steve’s doctor was a believer in serial EBT heart scans. When Steve came back for his second EBT scan to check on his calcium score, he received mixed reviews. The good news was that his plaque was now stable. The bad news was that the lung nodule had grown bigger. A thoracic surgeon removed the nodule. It was localized lung cancer.

Today, 5 years and 4 heart scans later, Steve’s coronary plaque is stable and he is cancer free. He will tell you that, if it had not been for the series of EBT heart scans, “one of those things would have gotten me by now.”