Why can’t/don’t doctors regularly check to see if your arteries are majorly clogged?

Question

I often hear stories of a guy who has a heart attack and come to find out that 95% of a major blood vessel to the heart was clogged.

How is this not picked up earlier during normal exams? Why isn’t it?

Can’t they do radiation shots to see where the blood flows or whatever?

In: Biology

Answer 1

Generally, doctors try to avoid subjecting patients to unnecessary radiation because the costs exceed the benefits. Also, I believe that the dye you have in mind can be hard on the kidneys, and I also believe that a small number of people are allergic to it, which can be a major health issue itself.