The authors examined the effect of electron beam computed tomography screening on perceived risk, behavior change, and medical intervention among community-dwelling adults with no history of heart disease. Participants were 184 men and 180 women aged 55 years and older who had electron beam computed tomography scans in 2000-2001 and responded to a questionnaire 6 months later. They were classified as low-, medium-, or high-risk based on coronary artery calcification score, an indicator of coronary artery plaque burden. Overall, only 5% of participants were alarmed or quite worried about developing heart disease. Compared with those with lower risk, high-risk participants were more likely to discuss scan results with a physician, undergo further cardiac testing, have a cholesterol test (all p < 0.001), and begin cholesterol-lowering medication (p < 0.001), aspirin (p = 0.009), and multivitamins (p = 0.018). The authors conclude that electron beam computed tomography screening motivates initiation of measures to prevent clinical heart disease without causing undue alarm among older men and women.