Are my parents going into a scam?

[RESmonkey]

Just had a call from some broken-english guy on the phone from :

"Heart Check America"
http://www.heartcheckamerica.com/

They were offering "free heart and lung scans" for December and January as part of their "Public Awareness Campaign." After some googling, I believe it's similar to timeshare but they do scan you. They try to talk you into buying services and what not. I also read that someone was able to get their scan done, but it was very unprofessional.
Well, it seems my mom still wants check them out.

So ATOT, ignoring the "if you have to ask, it's a scam!" rule , can you confirm that it is a scam?


Thanks

 

[shocksyde]

If you can't find legit positive reviews from any source, avoid it.

 

[FoBoT]

you should get healthcare from your local doctor, not from a cold call telemarketer

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

you should get healthcare from your local doctor, not from a cold call telemarketer

Pffft, I reject your common sense and substitute my own.

 

[SirStev0]

if you have to ask, it's a scam!

infallible. Even if its not really a scam... it is a scam. If their major plan of advertising is telemarketing they are not legit.

 

[dullard]

I'll be the first to admit that I am no expert on those particular scans.

But, I'm generally NOT a fan of too much preventative scanning if the scanning is harmful. Your parents will get x-ray radiation in the scan. X-ray radiation will harm people (not necesarilly your parents). It can (and does) cause problems worse than the problem that the scan was testing for. Of course, the dose should be low in a properly calibrated and properly used instrument (but do you trust a telemarketer's equipment?). Meaning the chance of harm should be low. But, even if this scan doesn't cause a problem, this radiation exposure does add up. You never know if this scan is the one that will give you cancer.

The benefits (real or fabricated) though are difficult to argue against. To most of the population, It doesn't matter that no scientific evidence will back up early detection claims. They want the test anyways. Then there is a chance of false positives, and the associated stress, costs, and unnecessary medical proceedures. Those costs don't matter, the "I do it for my kids" argument will always win out. This was on NPR yesterday and is somewhat related to the topic. At least have your parents read it before going on.

Conclusion: Unless I have a strong reason to get that type of scan, I see no reason to take unnecessary risks and potentially having a false positive. If I had risk factors or any doctor diagnosed warning symptoms, THEN I'd take the scan. Until then, like FoBoT said, I'll trust my doctor over a telemarketer.

 

[FoBoT]

Pffft, I reject your common sense and substitute my own.