New scanning strategy could help develop heart disease treatments (Scotland)

Patients with life-threatening heart valve disease could be helped with alternative scanning techniques that provide greater insight into the condition. Researchers from the University of Edinburgh used an imaging technique that could help predict which patients will need open heart surgery to replace their heart valves, and improve treatments to prevent the disease. The narrowing and hardening of the heart's aortic valve – a common condition known as aortic stenosis – affects 1 in 20 people over 65 in the UK and is on the increase due to an ageing population. The study, funded by the British Heart Foundation, trialled the use of positron emission tomography scans among patients with the condition. The scans give a much clearer insight into the process that causes aortic stenosis than ultrasound scans, which are currently used for diagnosis. They involve using tracer chemicals, which highlight molecular changes within the body