Free cardiac testing program relaunched to help Broward residents spot heart disease early
Broward County, Florida – February is Heart Health Month, a time to raise awareness about heart health and encourage individuals to do things that will help their hearts stay healthy. Every year, the major goals are to prevent, educate, and find heart disease early, since it is still the top cause of death around the world.
This year’s Heart Health Month in Broward County brings back access to preventive care. At the Broward County Commission meeting on November 18, 2025, Mayor Mark D. Bogen announced the revival of a program that gives qualified people free heart examinations to help them avoid problems. The goal of the program is to assist people find heart disease before they show symptoms and to get people to make healthy choices.
Broward County and the Florida Panthers Foundation are working together on the Broward County/Florida Panthers Preventive Heart Program. The Cleveland Clinic will do the heart testing, adding its nationally known expertise in heart care to the initiative.
The project is getting money from more than $3 million that was left over from the county’s original budget for the project, as well as an extra $1 million from the Florida Panthers Foundation.
County leaders continue highlighting important it is to get preventive health care, especially for people 45 and older. People are encouraged to talk to their own doctors about whether or not cardiac screenings are a good idea for them.
The main test that the program offers is a coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA), which is a unique type of CT scan of the heart. The test employs a little amount of radiation and iodine-based contrast to find plaque in the arteries of the heart. If you can’t get iodine-based contrast, there may be another CT calcium score test you can take. The calcium score test doesn’t find soft plaque, but it can still tell you a lot about how much calcified plaque has built up.
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Health officials say that while although mammograms and colonoscopies are common ways to find cancer, equivalent heart tests are often not covered by insurance, even though heart disease is a primary cause of mortality. The program’s goal is to increase early detection and help people make informed medical decisions by making it easier for people to get these screenings.
Individuals who get test results are encouraged to talk to their own doctors about what they mean and what they should do next to avoid or treat the problem.
Please direct any questions you may have to: Mayor Mark Bogen, 954-357-7002 or MBogen@broward.org
