Dr. Frank Aieta on the Talk of Connecticut with Gary Byron

Gary Byron

Heart disease is still the number one killer of adults, and here's the part most people never hear. Half of the men and about two thirds of the women who die of a heart attack had no warning. No warning. Their cholesterol often looked fine, their EKG was fine, and they felt fine.

Gary Byron

Joining us in the Talk of Connecticut interview chair is Dr. Frank Aieta of Cardiac Risk Specialists in Newington. His company does a 15-minute, no-radiation ultrasound of the arteries in your neck that looks for soft, unstable plaque — the kind that actually causes most heart attacks and strokes, often years before blockage even shows up on a stress test or a calcium score. He's also giving me a complimentary scan so we can come back in a couple of weeks and walk through my results. Dr. Aieta, welcome.

Dr. Frank Aieta

Thank you, Gary.

Gary Byron

People get a yearly physical, their cholesterol is normal, and they think everything is fine and dandy — they're in the clear. Why isn't that enough?

Dr. Frank Aieta

A cholesterol number is a guess, basically. It doesn't tell us whether plaque is already sitting on the wall of the artery. About 70 percent of people who die of a heart attack met current guidelines. An EKG or a stress test looks at how the heart is performing today. A calcium score only sees hard, calcified plaque — the late stuff. Most heart attacks aren't from a pipe that's 90 percent blocked. They're from soft, inflamed plaque that cracks, a clot forms, and the artery shuts down in minutes.

Dr. Frank Aieta

CIMT is an ultrasound of the carotid arteries. In 15 minutes we measure wall thickness and look for early plaque and inflammation. We're looking for the fire before the house is burning. No needles, no radiation, and you stay completely dressed.

Gary Byron

If I already had a carotid ultrasound at the hospital, or a calcium score — why would I still need this?

Dr. Frank Aieta

Those are different tests. A hospital carotid Doppler is built to find blockages over 50 percent. The problem is about 68 percent of heart attacks and strokes happen in people with less than 50 percent blockage. A coronary calcium score uses a CAT scan and radiation, and only counts calcium. Soft plaque doesn't show up on that test.

Dr. Frank Aieta

CIMT uses the same kind of ultrasound used in pregnancy, so it's very safe. We look at the lining of the artery itself — the thickness, inflammation, and plaque, including the soft kind. In a 10-year study, this type of testing caught 98.6 percent of heart attacks and strokes before they happened. That's why we call it early detection, not waiting for a blockage to occur.

Gary Byron

Walk me through this. What do I actually do, what do I get back, and what if you find something?

Dr. Frank Aieta

You come to 66 Cedar Street in Newington. Both sides are done. No fasting, no referral. It's $395 for the test — less than a nuclear stress test or a stress echo, and those tests miss early, non-blocking disease. You get a report with pictures, measurements, and how old your arteries look compared to your actual age.

Dr. Frank Aieta

If we see thickening or soft plaque, that's actually the good news: you found it while lifestyle and targeted treatments can still change the course, before it has turned hard. Atherosclerosis causes about 70 percent of heart attacks and strokes, and when you catch it early it's largely a manageable, preventable process. We give you this information in a 15-minute post-scan consult with one of our on-staff specialists. You and your doctor can then decide the next steps.

Gary Byron

You're giving me this complimentary scan. Why should people listening right now book this — and why should they tune in when my report comes back in a couple of weeks?

Dr. Frank Aieta

Hopefully when it comes back it looks good, Gary. Hearing numbers on the radio is one thing; seeing a person's real artery images is when it really clicks. After your scan we'll sit down on the air and walk through the report the same way we do with patients — wall thickness, any plaque, your arterial age. Listeners can go to cardiacriskspecialists.com right now, book the same 15-minute test in Newington, and come back for the second show so they know exactly what the report looks like. If you've never had a picture of your artery wall, this is the test.

Gary Byron

The test takes 15 minutes. This sounds very preventative.

Dr. Frank Aieta

That's what it is. We're catching things years before they get to the point of a blockage. Remember, it's the soft, vulnerable plaque we're concerned about — the kind that can burst and shut the artery down immediately. We're not waiting for it to build up over years until you get warning signs like difficulty breathing or a hard time walking up the stairs. We're asking: is this going to be a sudden cardiovascular event? This is true prevention, not waiting until the last minute.

Gary Byron

No fasting, in and out, a little gel. Any probes, any pain, any blood?

Dr. Frank Aieta

None whatsoever. You're in and out. Then in a couple of weeks you get the results back, we sit down, and we tell you exactly what's going on.

Gary Byron

That's Dr. Frank Aieta of Cardiac Risk Specialists. The test is 15 minutes, $395, no radiation, no referral. CardiacRiskSpecialists.com — that's one word. The office is 66 Cedar Street, Suite 303B, Newington. I'm getting scanned myself, and hopefully we'll have my results in a couple of weeks for a follow-up show. Don't wait for the warning you may never get.