Coronary CT Angiogram
http://www.allieddiagnostics.net/specialities/cardiac-imaging/coronary-ct-angiogram/
What is it for?
The Coronary CT Angiogram (CTA) is a revolutionary non-invasive way of evaluating the coronary arteries, determining whether either fatty deposits or calcium deposits have built up in the coronary arteries, which supply blood to the heart muscle. If left untreated, these areas of build-up, called plaques, can cause significant obstructions to the blood flow to the heart muscle and can lead to symptoms like fatigue, shortness of breath, chest pain and ultimately heart attacks.
Cardiovascular diseases are the number one cause of death throughout the world among men and women, based on World Health Organization (WHO) reports. Among cardiovascular diseases, Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) is the leading cause of death and more than half of the patients experience a heart attack without any previous symptoms and without significant obstruction in the coronary arteries.
This global trend is driven by changing lifestyle habits including unhealthy food, lack of exercise, and a stressful life. In order to stop and reverse this trend, there has been increased focus in recent years on disease screening and prevention.
How does it work?
Detailed Coronary CT Angiogram results are shown on screen.
Since the heart is a rapidly moving structure, Allied Diagnostics use the latest 64-slice CT scanners to produce up to 194 slices per second, enabling images to be produced that catch the heart ‘in between’ beats.
Furthermore the high number of slices means better image resolution, less artifacts and quicker acquisition (usually 5-8 seconds of scanning time), which means in return better diagnostic accuracy less patient inconvenience, more accurate diagnosis and better treatment planning.
Patients undergoing a Coronary CTA scan receive an iodine-containing contrast dye as an IV solution to ensure the best images possible. To slow or stabilize the patient’s heart rate for better imaging results, a medication can be given either intravenously using the same IV line or orally. During the examination (this usually takes less than five minutes), x-rays pass through the body and are picked up by special detectors in the scanner. Typically, the high number of these detectors (64) results in clearer final images. For that reason, Coronary CTA often is referred to as ‘multi-detector’ or ‘multi-slice’ CT scanning. The information collected during the Coronary CTA examination is transferred to a dedicated work station to create high-resolution 3D images of the heart, to assess the coronary arteries for plaques whether soft, calcified or mixed, to quantify intracoronary obstructions, and to assess cardiac muscle contractility and function.
How is Coronary CTA different from other heart tests?
It is the only non-invasive test that can detect early stages of the disease before it becomes symptomatic allowing preventative measures and reducing long-term risk of heart disease.
One of the most common heart tests is the invasive coronary angiogram, or cardiac catheterization. This test is invasive and requires more patient recovery time than Coronary CTA. Patients who undergo invasive coronary angiograms will have a catheter, or small transport tube, threaded into their coronary arteries, which run along the outside of the heart. The catheter typically is inserted into a blood vessel in the upper thigh and then maneuvered up to the coronary arteries. The catheter then is used to inject the iodine dye needed for the test, which uses X-rays to record “movies” of the interior of the coronary arteries.
Who should consider Coronary CTA?
The single most important step for patients trying to determine whether they should consider a Coronary CTA is consultation with their primary physician. This is because some Coronary CTA uses are more appropriate than others, and the scan carries some risk from high x-ray exposure (potential for stimulating cancer) and contrast dye exposure (allergic reactions and kidney damage).
With the contrast media currently used, known side effects such as allergy or renal failure are extremely rare. We at Allied Diagnostics have implemented a free, systematic and quick test for renal function prior to the procedure to insure safety and to further minimize any risk.
As for radiation exposure, our new High Definition Volume CT scanner has a low radiation capability and is able to reduce radiation up to 70% less than conventional CCTA allowing us to have excellent diagnostic images with a minimal radiation exposure.
Allied Diagnostics is dedicated in bringing state-of-the-art technology to the detection of silent, preventable disease processes. In partnership with clinicians our goal is to provide a service to measure risks and manage concerns. As healthcare professionals we can work toward reducing deaths due to heart disease by developing screening services based on the High Definition Volume CT.
Overall, Coronary CTA examinations have tended to help determine a lack of significant narrowing and calcium deposits in the coronary arteries, as well as a presence of fatty deposits. This has been found to be particularly valuable in asymptomatic patients with higher risk for coronary disease, in patients with atypical symptoms but lower risk of coronary disease, or in patients with unclear stress-test results. As a result, Allied Diagnostics’ imaging facilities currently supports the careful use of Coronary CTA for patients who have:
- Intermediate to high-risk profiles for coronary artery disease, but who do not have typical symptoms (especially chest pain, shortness of breath, or fatigue during heavy physical activity)
- Unusual symptoms for coronary artery disease (such as chest pain unrelated to physical exertion), but low to intermediate risk profiles for coronary artery disease
- Unclear or inconclusive stress-test (treadmill test) results
- High blood pressure
- Obesity
- Diabetes
- High cholesterol levels
- Smoking
- High-stress lifestyle
For these types of patients, Coronary CTA can provide important insights to their primary physician into the extent and nature of plaque formation with or without any narrowing of the coronary arteries. Coronary CTA also can non-invasively exclude narrowing of the arteries as the cause of chest discomfort and detect other possible causes of symptoms.
