Dignity Health’s Guide to Advanced Screenings for Better Heart Health
By Emma McNail on January 26, 2026
SPONSORED BY DIGNITY HEALTH
While each person’s heart health is unique, there are some general screening guidelines available by age.
In our 20s, we should concentrate on living heart-healthy as the choices we make now can significantly impact our heart health later. Yearly cholesterol and blood pressure check-ups are recommended to establish a baseline for heart health.
In our 30s and 40s is when cardiologists recommend assessing an individual’s family-specific and lifestyle risk factors, says Dr. Ahmed. "If anyone in their 30s—and definitely in their 40s—has a family history of early heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, or has smoking history, those are the kind of patients who should consider advanced heart screening."
Advanced heart screening should be considered for men over the age of 45 and women over 55 with coronary risk factors like hypertension or hyperlipidemia.
Advanced Screenings by Age
A Word about Statins
Taking medication that helps you live your best life and achieve your goals is much better than dealing with the alternative.
Your heart health depends on many factors, but when it’s time to know specifics, advanced screenings are necessary. The good news is most of today’s cardiac diagnostics are easily performed and incredibly efficient at giving cardiologists a better picture of your heart health. Still, many of us have questions. Which screenings are right for me? What numbers should I pay attention to? How much does my family history matter?
We sat down with Dr. Ameera Ahmed, an Interventional Cardiologist at Dignity Health, to get answers to all the most important questions regarding advanced screenings for heart health.
"Everyone can develop heart disease, and it depends on multiple risk factors, environmental factors, age and gender," Dr. Ahmed explains. “Taking care of your heart health means different things for different people.”
Remember: cardiovascular disease is largely preventable. That’s why Dr. Ahmed stresses the importance for everyone to be aware of their own heart health and discuss their risk factors with their primary care physician to determine if advanced screening is necessary, and if so, which screenings are best. “Bodies don’t read like textbooks. Everyone presents differently depending on where they’re at in life.”
Advanced screenings are a group of diagnostic tools that help cardiologists assess a patient’s risk for heart disease. They’re important because they help clinicians determine the best next steps and treatment options based on individual results. From a patient’s view, knowing what each screening is and what it’s measuring is important. As Dr. Ahmed notes, “You don’t want to do a test if you don’t know what you’re going to do with the information.”
Some of the most common screenings include advanced lipid panels, genetic testing, coronary calcium scoring, CT angiography and carotid IMT.
What Are Advanced Screenings? A Guide
Basic and Advanced Lipid Panels
An annual basic lipid panel screening is recommended for all adults (you’re never too young to get a basic lipid panel). A basic lipid panel includes total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL (the "good" cholesterol), and LDL (the transporter cholesterol that gets deposited when the body produces too much).
If a basic lipid panel shows an LDL of higher than 100, Dr. Ahmed would likely encourage the patient to start taking medication. She notes that lifestyle modification is not always possible, making medication like statins—which are safe, affordable and effective—an ideal option (read more about statins later in this article).
Advanced lipid panels look at particle size, particle number, and additional particles in the cholesterol panel. They are particularly important for people with a family history of high cholesterol or elevated cholesterol levels. Dr. Ahmed notes that your LDL particle level is a more accurate indicator of cardiovascular health than the general LDL level, making an advanced lipid panel a great screening for those with high risk factors.
Genetic Testing
If your family has a history of early heart disease, genetic testing is a good idea. Genetic testing for cardiovascular risk continues to become more affordable. Genetic lipid panels can identify conditions like familial hypercholesterolemia and help inform decisions about treatment. In addition to the testing, it’s important to receive genetic counseling to help you interpret your results.
Coronary Calcium Score
A coronary calcium score is an easy, quantitative screening test that measures calcium buildup in the coronary arteries, stratified by age and gender. Calcium buildup leads to a stiffening of the arteries which forces the heart to work harder to pump blood. It can even contribute to plaque buildup and blockage which can then cause heart attacks and strokes. It’s recommended for anyone with a family history of early heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, or smoking history to get a coronary calcium score.
Understanding your score is important:
0: Little to no risk
Less than 10: Very low risk
10-100: ~50% chance of blockage
100-400: High likelihood of obstruction
Greater than 400: Significant plaque burden
For anything above zero, Dr. Ahmed would likely recommend light medication, like taking a baby aspirin daily, and lifestyle modification. For higher scores, like 400 and above, the likelihood of obstruction is high and more diagnostics, like an echocardiogram or a stress test, are necessary. And, statins are most likely in your future.
Carotid IMT
Or carotid intima-media thickness is a measure of how much plaque exists in the carotid artery. Using ultrasound, this test is highly accurate and non-invasive. The test is measured in percentiles. Above the 75th percentile for age or gender means you should really be watching out for cardiovascular risk factors. For example, elevated IMT in ages 35-54 increases your risk of death twofold.
Gender Differences
Cardiovascular disease presents differently in men and women. Traditionally, men are prone to heart disease earlier and their symptoms, like chest pain, are often the most recognizable.
Without the protective benefits of estrogen that women enjoy before menopause, men develop heart disease approximately 10 years earlier, with the average age of a first heart attack occurring around age 65 compared to 72 for women.
Early warning signs can be subtle—erectile dysfunction, for example, often indicates blockages in small vessels that suggest larger arterial problems may be developing. Most alarmingly, half of men who die suddenly from coronary heart disease had no previous symptoms, underscoring the critical importance of regular screening even when feeling healthy.
The takeaway for men is clear: Early screening and lifestyle modification—eating healthy, exercising, sleeping well, quitting smoking—are key to helping prevent cardiovascular disease.
Women are also encouraged to live a heart-healthy lifestyle. While women tend to develop heart disease later than men, their symptoms are more likely to be overlooked when those symptoms don't match textbook presentations. Dr. Ahmed encourages women to advocate for themselves. “Being aware of risk factors and then advocating for yourself, asking questions of your doctor about how to mitigate those risk factors, are all really important.”
Statins are a safe, affordable and effective treatment for high cholesterol, yet many patients are hesitant to take them, even when they know they can significantly decrease their risk of heart disease and stroke. Misinformation about statins abounds, including misguided theories about possible side-effects. “They’re a victim of a bad PR campaign,” says Dr. Ahmed.
Instead, Dr. Ahmed says we should think of statins as a car insurance policy. “You are not paying the insurance premium for the days that you're driving your car just fine. You're paying that insurance premium to make sure that you're protected if something were to happen or to prevent it from happening on a more catastrophic scale."
The hesitation surrounding statins reflects a broader trend of patient mistrust for the medical industry as a whole, and medication specifically. Dr. Ahmed wants to set the record straight.
“Taking medication that helps you live your best life and achieve your goals is much better than dealing with the alternative,” she says. She encourages those worried about side effects to talk to their doctor who can address those concerns, adding, “You don't know if you're going to have side effects until you try the medication."
What’s Next?
Most medications don’t treat the whole picture of cardiovascular health. That’s why cardiologists are so intrigued by the rise of GLP-1 medications. These medications have been shown to address many of the risk factors of heart disease. And as these medications become more affordable, easier to take and readily available, Dr. Ahmed is feeling optimistic about their positive effects on cardiovascular health.
She feels similarly positive about improved approaches to cholesterol. While there are many components like lipoprotein (a), or Lp(a), a genetically inherited protein that increases heart risk, and apolipoprotein B, or apoB, a protein that corresponds to the number of plaque-forming particles in the body, that don't yet have specific treatments, they could arrive soon. For example, ribonucleic acid (RNA) therapy for LP(a), which prevents the liver from synthesizing the ”sticky” protein, is in phase 2 trials and will be a gamechanger for patients with genetically elevated risk.
These are important developments. As we continue to live longer than we have before, innovative medications and treatments for cardiovascular disease are keeping pace. This gives cardiologists like Dr. Ahmed hope.
“The goal is to live for as long as possible while maintaining a good quality of life,” says Dr. Ahmed. “Treatments help prevent problems that may cause quality of life issues down the road.”
With American Heart Month in full swing, now’s the time to talk to your primary care physician about your heart health, especially because cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in the U.S. Even if you’re in your 20s or 30s, what you do now has a lasting impact on your health later in life.
If advanced screenings reveal a potential issue, the sooner it is addressed, the more likely you’ll decrease your risk of heart disease.
At Dignity Health Heart and Vascular Institute of Greater Sacramento, unparalleled expertise meets compassionate care. We treat more hearts locally than any other health system, a testament to our legacy of excellence and long-standing national recognitions. Our comprehensive approach blends innovative diagnostics, groundbreaking treatments and dedicated rehabilitation services you can count on. From routine checkups to complex procedures, let our experts help keep your heart strong and your life vibrant. Learn more at DignityHealth.org/HeartandVascular.
Being aware of risk factors and then advocating for yourself, asking questions of your doctor about how to mitigate those risk factors, are all really important.
She also notes women have several factors that can impact heart health that are unique to their gender. Menopause is a major turning point for women's cardiovascular risk, as the hormonal protection from estrogen diminishes. Women who develop menopause early have an increased risk for cardiovascular disease. "Being postmenopausal or perimenopausal is a time when a woman’s cardiovascular risk starts to rise and the curve starts to meet the number that is present with men."
There are several pregnancy-related risk factors to keep in mind as well. Women with a history of preeclampsia or gestational diabetes have significantly increased cardiovascular risk later in life. Preeclampsia survivors have increased risk for stroke and heart attack while women with gestational diabetes have a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes, a known comorbidity for cardiovascular disease. If any of these risk factors apply to you, advanced screenings are highly recommended.
Autoimmune diseases affect both genders but are far more prevalent in women. Cardiovascular disease is essentially inflammation of the cardiovascular system. Because autoimmune diseases can cause inflammation, there is a clear connection between heart disease and autoimmune diseases.
"Patients who have autoimmune disease, like rheumatoid arthritis or lupus, often don't die from them,” says Dr. Ahmed, “They die of cardiovascular disease."
Dr. Ahmed recommends anyone with an autoimmune disease to talk to their doctor about statins, a traditional cholesterol medication that decreases inflammation.
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- Dr. Ameera Ahmed, an Interventional Cardiologist at Dignity Health
- Dr. Ameera Ahmed, an Interventional Cardiologist at Dignity Health
Take our Heart Health Risk Assessment
Dignity Health’s Guide to Advanced Screenings for Better Heart Health
Take our Heart Health Risk Assessment
Sleep As Medicine: The Impact of Sleep on Heart Health
Meet the Medications Changing the Future of Cardiovascular Health
Visit Dignity Health's Heart Hub