CT scan better than cardiac stress test to find heart blockages (USA)

A CT scan is better than a cardiac stress test finding heart blockages, according to a national study headquartered at Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Michigan, USA. The study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology could help spare patients from unnecessary, invasive heart procedures, said Dr. Kavitha Chinnaiyan, Beaumont's director of advanced cardiac imaging education. She said the national study showed that CT imaging works very well as a 'gatekeeper' to the catheterization lab. As many as 10 percent of stress imaging studies, often done as patients exercise on a treadmill, are inconclusive, often leading to an invasive procedure known as cardiac catheterization. But only one-third of the patients had obstructions requiring an intervention, recent federal data from a large study show. Blue Cross/Blue Shield/Blue Care Network of Michigan funded the study as part of a statewide quality improvement initiative. Beaumont is the coordinating center for the consortium