CardioExchange Archive

March 14th, 2015

Has CT Angiography Lived Up to Its Early Promise?

Larry Husten, PHD

Computed tomographic angiography (CTA) enjoyed an explosion of growth over the past decade or more, fueled by enthusiasm for its ability to deliver speedy, high-resolution images of the coronary arteries. Many anticipated that CTA would prove its worth and justify its expense and radiation dose. As explained by one cardiologist, Duke University’s Dan Mark, with […]

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August 30th, 2013

Will New Scanner Technology Reduce Radiation from CT Angiography?

Kavitha M Chinnaiyan, M.D., Gilbert L Raff, BS, MD and John Ryan, MD

Kavitha Chinnaiyan and Gilbert L. Raff discuss their study group’s nonrandomized investigation of using new scanner technology to reduce radiation from coronary CT angiography in the context of an ongoing quality-improvement program.

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July 25th, 2012

ROMICAT-II Provokes Opposing Views on CT Angiography in the ED

Larry Husten, PHD

For patients with suspected acute coronary syndromes (ACS), CT angiography (CTA) compared to standard treatment can reduce the time in the emergency department (ED), according to results of the ROMICAT-II (Rule Out Myocardial Infarction/Ischemia Using Computer-Assisted Tomography) trial, published in the New England Journal of Medicine. However, CTA resulted in more tests being performed and increased radiation exposure. One […]

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March 26th, 2012

CT Angiography to Rule Out CAD in Chest-Pain Patients

Larry Husten, PHD

Each year, 6 million people in the U.S. arrive at the emergency department (ED) with acute chest pain. Although only 10% to 15% of them turn out to have an acute coronary syndrome (ACS), most are admitted to the hospital. Coronary CT angiography (CCTA) has been proposed as a good method to quickly establish the presence […]

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