Ishmael Sierra, my brother-in-law, went to a Los Angeles hospital in February with chest pains and was given a stress test and an echocardiogram, which he passed. While on vacation in San Diego at the end of May, he suffered a heart attack and sustained severe brain damage. He died a week later. If the emergency room he was taken to had access to the amazing diagnostic tool available here at Cabrini Medical Center, his blocked arteries could have been detected and cleared, and I have no doubt he’d be alive today.

It may seem remarkable that the most advanced cardiac-screening procedure in the country is available at a small private hospital run by nuns, but the name Cabrini has always been associated with the incredible.

Maria Francesca Cabrini from San Angelo, Italy, founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1850. She was sent by Pope Leo XIII to America to help care for the immigrants here. Under miraculous circumstances, she founded 67 orphanages, hospitals, and schools throughout America, one for every year of her life. She was canonized in 1946, and Cabrini Medical Center, on East 19th Street in Manhattan, is still carrying on her mission to care for the needs of those who are underserved.

So it was that I scheduled a heart screening at Cabrini. Even though I had been advised that the test would not take very long, my anxiety level was quite high. Ah, but Cabrini is blessed with Beth Dannheuser, who has created the Compassionate Touch Program to soothe the nerves of patients about to be tested. The program provides a combination of stress-reducing Eastern and Western philosophies. I was able to relax in a room filled with the smell of lavender while Ms. Dannheuser massaged my calves and feet with fragrant oils.

After that relaxing half-hour, I went in to consult with Michael Poon. On his computer screen, in startling detail, was a sample scan, and Dr. Poon manipulated the computer mouse to zoom in on a section of an artery that showed a blockage – which probably would never have been picked up on a stress test. Looking at that screen, I could just imagine the plaque and fatty deposits that would show up on my own scan. I am overweight and diabetic and have a family history of heart disease, so I’m a prime candidate for coronary heart disease. I wasn’t afraid of the test, just the results.

But Dr. Poon is a charmer, and a great advocate of early detection.

“Heart disease is not like cancer,” he said. “It’s fixable if detected in time. That’s why an early diagnosis is so important.”

As a 2-year-old, Michael Poon was whisked out of communist China, and he spent the next 13 years in Hong Kong. His parents immigrated to America when he was 15 and still live in Chinatown. Dr. Poon graduated from Xavier High School and earned his M.D. from Mount Sinai School of Medicine. He’s won many research awards in the field of molecular and vascular biology and atherosclerosis. He was director of the Cardiac Magnetic Resonance/Computed Tomography Imaging Program at Mount Sinai. He’s been listed twice in New York magazine as one of the best doctors in the city. In short, he’s a rising star, so I asked: “Why Cabrini?”

He answered, “Cabrini may be a small hospital, but its mission is to serve a community that is generally underserved. I wanted to bring my expertise to the hospital to contribute to that goal.”

Cabrini is the only center in America that offers the advanced TeraRecon diagnostic scan, which provides the most detailed image of the human heart. Doctors come from all over the world to be trained by Dr. Poon and his team.

The test itself is quite simple and it is noninvasive, except for an IV that inserts the dye into the arterial system. A mild beta-blocker is administered to bring the pulse rate under 60, and a sublingual nitroglycerin tablet is given to dilate the arteries. For the patient, the hardest part of the short test is holding one’s breath while the machine scans. My test was over in less than three minutes.

When I went into Dr. Poon’s office later to view the results, I could see my heart scan on the computer screen. It looked completely different from the previous one I had seen. Dr. Poon moved the mouse, zooming in and out to show me every nook and cranny of my vascular system.

“Beautiful,” Dr. Poon said. “You’ve done a great job. Your arteries are completely clear.”

I couldn’t believe my eyes or my ears. I think I told him I loved him before I floated out of the hospital. Peace of mind is priceless.

In a research study program in collaboration with the Congress of Racial Equality – 212-598-4000 – Cabrini Medical Center is providing free cardiac screenings for the African-American community. The Advanced Cardiac Computed Tomography (CT) scan is also free as part of a research study to American Caucasians and African-Americans between ages 29 and 62 who have no known heart disease. The person to contact is Dapheny Wono at 212-995-6866.

Medicare, Medicaid, and some insurance companies cover the cost of the test, which is much less expensive than an invasive angiogram. I highly recommend the test to anyone concerned about the health of his heart.

This technology belongs in every emergency room around the country. How I wish they’d had it in Los Angeles last February.