Screenings

High Desert Imaging offers preventative health screenings designed to detect disease early and used to augment routine medical physicals given by your primary care physician. Health screenings are the best way to discover serious health problems before symptoms appear. Discuss with your doctor if any of the following screenings might be right for you. Appropriate testing depends on factors like your age, sex and family history, and lifestyle.

Breast Cancer Screening (Digital Mammography)

Breast cancer screening is recommended annually for women starting at age 40. Screening is supplemental to clinical breast exams (CBE) performed by your doctor in the detection of early stages of breast cancer. A mammogram is a low-dose x-ray exam used to produce images of the breast. Breast screenings may also find ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), abnormal cells in the lining of a breast duct that could develop into invasive cancer.

Since its widespread implementation in the 1980’s, mammography has lowered the risk of women dying of breast cancer by at least 35%. Cancers detected by screening are smaller and more treatable than those detected as a lump. For the smallest cancers detected with breast cancer screening, 5-year survival rates is 100% compared to 22% for symptomatic, advanced cancers.

Though mammography does not catch all instances of breast cancer, it is the gold standard tool used to reduce deaths from the disease. Thanks to the help of screening mammography, breast cancer is now often curable.

Breast Cancer Screening Eligibility (average risk):

  • You are a woman age 40 or older with no symptoms of breast cancer

  • No personal history of invasive, malignant, or benign breast cancer

  • No family history in a first degree (parent, sibling, child) or evidence of a hereditary syndrome

  • No history of mantle radiation (a radiation used to treat Hodgkins disease and other conditions)

If you are at average risk, an annual clinical breast examination (CBE) beginning at age 25 and annual mammography beginning at age 40 is recommended.

Breast Cancer Screening Eligibility (above-average risk):

  • You have a family history of breast cancer (parent, sibling, or child)

  • You have or had a benign form of breast disease (atypical hyperplasia) or abnormal cells (lobular or carcinoma in situ) confined to the milk duct or lobule

  • You have a history of being treated with mantle radiation before age 32

If you are at above-average risk, the following is recommended: an annual clinical breast examination (CBE) every 3-6 months starting at the same time as the earliest diagnosis in family or at the time of mantle radiation treatment. Annual mammogram starting no later than 10 years before the age of the earliest diagnosis in family (but not earlier than age 25, no later than age 40). Annual mammography beginning at alternating 6 month intervals if you have a family history of breast cancer or at the time of your diagnosis for benign or abnormal cell form of breast cancer.

October through December, take advantage of our $100 Self-Pay Mammogram Special

From October (National Breast Cancer Awareness Month) through December, High Desert Imaging is offering special pricing of $100 for screening mammograms that includes radiology interpretation. Learn more about our mammogram imaging discount.

Visit our mammogram exam page for information about our mammography procedure.

Cardiac Calcium Scoring

You no longer need to leave town for this simple but important non-invasive, diagnostic screening that can ascertain the presence and general burden of coronary artery disease (CAD). A cardiac CT scan for Calcium Scoring (also known as coronary artery calcium scoring) captures x-ray images of your coronary arteries to check for the presence of calcified plaque (atherosclerosis) in your arteries. This diagnostic screening uses the measurement of calcium detected in the CT scan as expressed in a calcium score to determine your risk for heart attack.

You May Be Eligible For Cardiac Calcium Scoring If You:

  • Have high blood cholesterol

  • Have low HDL “good” cholesterol

  • Have high blood pressure

  • Are a cigarette smoker

  • Are overweight, obese, and/or physically inactive

  • Have a family history of heart disease at age 55 or younger in men, 65 or younger in women

  • Are over 40 and have been diagnosed with an inflammatory condition such as IBS, lupus, ankylosing spondylitis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, or other related diseases.

Some insurance plans cover this exam and HDI does offer a special cash pay price of $125 for this screening. Call us for more details about this exam or download our helpful Cardiac Calcium Scoring information sheet.

Lung Cancer Screening (LDCT: Low-Dose CT Scan)

Lung cancer is the second leading cause of death behind heart disease. A lung cancer screening program uses a test called a Low-Dose CT scan (LDCT) that has the potential to detect lung cancer at earlier stages before symptoms develop and when it has the best chance of being cured. A LDCT screening uses advanced X-ray technology to produce a series of multiple images of the lung that allows HDI Radiology Physicians to examine the images in greater detail and with more accuracy than a standard chest X-ray.

LDCT Screening Eligibility:

  • You are between ages 55-77

  • You presently smoke or have quit smoking in the past 15 years

  • You have a 30 “pack-year” (a pack a day for 30 years) or greater smoking history

  • You are able and willing to endure lung cancer treatment if cancer is discovered

Learn about HDI’s Lung Cancer Screening.

Lung Cancer Screening Info Sheet

Take Advantage of Our $150 Self-Pay Lung Cancer Screening Special

High Desert Imaging is offering special cash-pay pricing of $150 for LDCT lung cancer screening. A doctor’s referral is not required for this exam. Learn more about our lung cancer screening discount.

Carotid Artery Screening

Carotid artery disease increases the risk of stroke due to plaque (called atherosclerosis) collecting along the walls of the carotid arteries, the two main arteries on each side of the neck that carry oxygenated blood from the heart to the brain. These arteries can thicken, stiffen, and narrow over time, restricting the passage of blood to the brain (a condition called stenosis).

Carotid artery screening is performed on asymptomatic patients to help detect disease when it’s most treatable. A carotid artery screening utilizes conventional ultrasound imaging to capture pictures of arteries along with Doppler ultrasound to evaluate blood flow speed through and internal thickness of the arteries.

Carotid Artery Screening Eligibility:

  • You have peripheral artery or coronary artery disease

  • You have had an atherosclerotic aortic aneurysm

  • History of cardiovascular disease

  • You have diabetes

Or, you have at least two risk factors for stroke including:

  • High blood pressure

  • High cholesterol

  • You smoke

  • Have a family history of ischemic stroke

  • Have a first-degree relative (parent, sibling, child) who developed atherosclerosis before age 60

Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD or PAD) Screening

Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD) screening can assist in detecting early signs of PVD that can be potentially treated before the condition worsens, raising the risk of a stroke or heart attack. PVD is a common disease that occurs when blood vessels supplying blood to extremities and organs of the body are partially or fully blocked due to plaque build up (atherosclerosis). This limits the delivery of oxygen-rich blood to the parts of your body in order to support ordinary function.

When PVD involves the arteries outside the heart, it is referred to as Peripheral Arterial Disease, or PAD. PAD is commonly associated with blocked arteries of the legs and feet, symptoms that include leg pain and ulcers or wounds that don’t heal. Presence of atherosclerosis in the leg arteries is a strong indicator that the condition also exists in the arteries of the heart and brain.

HDI’s PVD screening utilizes conventional ultrasound imaging to capture pictures of arteries and Doppler ultrasound to evaluate blood flow speed through the arteries. We perform both venous and arterial studies, utilizing ultrasound for the veins in the arms or legs and blood pressure monitoring using an ankle-brachial index (ABI) test.

PVD Screening Eligibility:

  • You are age 50 or older

  • You have high blood pressure or cholesterol

  • You have a family history or atherosclerotic and circulatory problems

  • You have diabetes

  • You smoke


If you have questions about any of HDI’s medical imaging screenings, please use our online contact form or call us at 775.621.5800.