Can You Reverse Heart Disease? What My Plaque Scans Showed | Dr Campbell Rogers

2026-07-06

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In late 2024 a CT scan revealed a small amount of soft plaque in my arteries. Sixteen months later I scanned again, and my plaque volume had dropped by around forty percent. In this episode I ask the cardiologist behind the technology whether a result like that can really be trusted. Dr Campbell Rogers is an interventional cardiologist, a former Harvard faculty member who ran the cath lab at Brigham and Women's Hospital, and now Chief Medical Officer at Heartflow. What we cover: The difference between a calcium...

Dr Campbell Rogers is an interventional cardiologist, a former Harvard faculty member who ran the cath lab at Brigham and Women's Hospital, and now Chief Medical Officer at Heartflow.

What we cover:

The difference between a calcium score, a CT coronary angiogram, and AI plaque analysis
Why a calcium score of zero does not mean you are free of disease
What my own scans showed, and why Campbell believes the result
Soft versus calcified plaque, and why calcification can be a sign of stabilisation
Treating the plaque you can see rather than just an ApoB number
Who should consider getting scanned, and the honest trade-offs

This is a conversation about seeing a disease we used to only guess at, held with the right amount of scientific humility. If you want to understand your own heart health, I think it is well worth your time.

If you enjoy the show, please take a moment to rate and review The Proof on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It genuinely helps more people find these conversations.

To connect with Dr Campbell Rogers, visit Heartflow.

How Campbell Rogers went from cardiologist to Heartflow (00:00)
What Heartflow is and how it works (07:26)
Coronary CT angiogram vs. stress test (11:54)
Why symptoms alone miss early heart disease (13:18)
How Heartflow analyzes CT scans in 90 minutes (15:58)
Calcified vs. non-calcified plaque: which is riskier (21:28)
Why calcium score zero doesn't mean no heart disease (28:45)
Who should get a CT angiogram with AI plaque analysis (31:09)
Why seeing your plaque improves medication adherence (34:04)
Simon's 2024 Heartflow scan results (39:12)
How plaque rupture triggers a heart attack (43:25)
Simon's 2026 Heartflow scan: 40% plaque reduction in 16 months (45:43)
How long to wait between CT scans (51:14)
Heartflow vs. Cleerly vs. QAngio (53:12)
How Heartflow results led Simon to start statins (58:21)
JAMA study: Heartflow tracks plaque in prostate cancer patients (1:00:10)
What is low attenuation plaque and why it's high risk (1:02:53)
Who should ask their doctor about a coronary CT angiogram (1:07:37)

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Simon Hill, MSc, BSc (Hons)