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

Plaque on CT scan is strong predictor of heart disease, worse long-term outcomes (USA)

The presence of plaque on an abdominal CT scan is a strong predictor of coronary artery disease and mortality, according to a Henry Ford Hospital study. Researchers found that patients are nearly 60 percent at risk of having coronary artery disease when the CT scan showed very high levels of abdominal aortic calcium, commonly known as plaque. High levels of the abdominal aortic calcium also increased their risk of dying, researchers say. Conversely, researchers found that the lack of abdominal aortic calcium, or AAC, was associated with a low risk of coronary artery disease, a chronic, progressive form of heart disease that results from a buildup of plaque in the arteries found on the surface of the heart. The study is being presented Sunday, March 14 at the 59th annual American College of Cardiology Scientific Sessions in Atlanta.