Amazing Heart Pictures
December 8, 2004
PORT RICHEY, Fla. (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) — Heart disease is the number one killer in the United States. Many people don’t find out they have heart disease until it’s very advanced. But new technology allows doctors to see in the heart like never before.
Rodney Rea, D.O., no longer comes to the office as the doctor. Now, he’s the patient. Dr. Rea has heart disease. His dad died from a heart attack at 54. He’s 53.
“I came in because I had silent disease and was afraid,” Dr. Rea says.
He goes through a test called CTA every three months to get a close look at his heart. It’s a non-invasive test that takes about 30 seconds. During the test, the heart is imaged in 16 different slices. The pictures reveal both soft and hard plaque that can lead to a heart attack. The images are then transferred to a computer where primary care physician Steven Strobbe, D.O., can read them and show the patient what is happening in his or her heart.
“This is the most exciting thing about medicine right now in diagnosing of coronary and any other vascular disease,” Dr. Strobbe, of Florida Institute for Advanced Diagnostic Imaging in Port Richey, Fla, tells Ivanhoe. He can see inside the arteries and see blockages that other more invasive tests might miss, showing patients a disease process that is a progressive disease.
Today, the news for Dr. Rea is not good. He’s starting to develop some soft plaque. The treatment? A healthier lifestyle.
I would rather be aware because nothing’s worse than the fear of the unknown,” Dr. Rea says. And now that he knows, he’s motivated to be healthier.
The cost of this procedure is about $1,000. Most insurance companies do cover the test for patients who are at high risk for heart disease.
If you would like more information, please contact:
Steven Strobbe, D.O.
Florida Institute for Advanced
Diagnostic Imaging
9238 U.S. 19
Port Richey, FL 34668
(727) 849-8492