A script for asking your PCP about a CCTA order

This is a conversation aid, not a demand that your primary-care clinician order a CCTA. They may decide a different test, no test, or a referral to cardiology is safer. That can be the right outcome. This page is educational and is not medical advice.

Before the visit

Write down:

• Your symptoms (chest pressure, shortness of breath, jaw or arm discomfort, when they happen, what makes them better or worse)
• A timeline (days, weeks, months)
• Other tests you already had (stress test, calcium score, emergency-room troponin, ECG) and where they were done
• Medicines, allergies, kidney problems, prior contrast reactions
• What you are hoping to learn (“I want to know if my arteries are narrowed” is clearer than “I want the scan I saw online”)

If symptoms are severe, sudden, or you feel acutely unwell, that is urgent or emergency care — not a routine PCP script.

Words you can say

You do not need medical jargon. Try:

“I have [symptom] when I [trigger]. I would like to talk about whether we are evaluating possible coronary artery disease, and whether a coronary CT angiogram (CCTA), a stress test, or another step is appropriate. I understand CCTA uses IV contrast and usually needs an order. I am not asking you to order something you do not think I need.”

If you already had a calcium score: “I had a calcium score of [X] on [date]. I know that is a different test from a CCTA. Does that change what we do about these symptoms?”

If you already had a stress test: “The stress test was [normal / abnormal / inconclusive]. Would an anatomic test like CCTA add something, or is the next step something else?”

If you are asymptomatic and worried about risk: “I feel well. I am worried about family history / cholesterol. Is a CCTA the right tool, or should we talk about prevention and maybe a calcium score instead?” Many clinicians will not order a contrast CCTA in that setting. That is a clinical judgment, not a failing of the visit.

Questions worth asking them

• What is the leading explanation for my symptoms?
• What would a CCTA change in the plan?
• Do I need labs (creatinine) first?
• Who will receive the report?
• If you order it, which imaging site do you use, and do I need prior authorization?
• If you do not order it, what is the follow-up?

What to bring if they do order it

Ask for a copy of the order or the electronic requisition. Confirm it specifies coronary CT angiography / CCTA, not only “CT chest” or “calcium score.” Our preparation guide lists topics to ask the imaging center. Then use Find a CCTA to see California addresses that billed CPT 75574 to Medicare FFS in 2024 — for example Rancho Mirage or Stanford. Your clinician may send you to a site that is not on the list; the list is Medicare FFS, not a complete map of every scanner.

What this script is not

It is not a form you hand over for a guaranteed signature. It is not permission to skip cardiology if your PCP wants a referral. It is not an offer from CCTA Scan to order the test — we do not. We are not your doctor.

If the visit ends without a CCTA, you still got a medical opinion. That is the point of an order culture. Read Do I need an order? for why this site will not advertise walk-in CCTA.

This article is educational and is not medical advice. Talk with your doctor.