Cardiologists are constantly searching for better ways to detect heart problems sooner. A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggested that a test using a CT scan could lead to answers for many of the 33.5 million Americans deemed to be at intermediate risk of heart problems.

The test -- known as a coronary artery calcium score, or CAC -- is found by evaluating the amount of calcium in blood vessels around the heart. Doctors accomplish through a CT scan.

In the new study, a team led by Dr. Joseph Yeboah, assistant professor of internal medicine-cardiology at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, found that this test was the most effective of the six different methods to determine someone's risk of future heart problems if they happened to be classified as having an "intermediate" risk of heart disease.

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