A new study in the US aims to determine the best method to screen and evaluate patients who are at risk of developing coronary heart disease and which patients would benefit from taking a statin medication to lower cholesterol. 

A new approach by researchers at Intermountain Health in Salt Lake City to determining risk and selecting a statin is the use of the coronary artery calcium (CAC) score which is determined by taking a low-radiation dose image of the heart using computed tomography (CT) to look for calcium deposits in plaques in the heart’s coronary arteries.