A new kind of scan might be able to find blocked arteries quicker and with less trouble than existing tests.
November 13, 2006 (Press Release) --
A new kind of scan might be able to find blocked arteries quicker and with less trouble than existing tests, U.S. researchers reported on Sunday.
Tests in dogs show that the computed tomography or CT scan could track blood flow slowed by the narrowing of arteries, researchers told the American Heart Association meeting in Chicago.
They said the non-invasive test took less than half the time of exercise stress tests and echocardiograms now used to find early signs of dangerously clogged blood vessels.
Dr. Albert Lardo and colleagues at the Johns Hopkins University of School of Medicine in Baltimore are now testing the method in human volunteers.
"Because it takes less than 15 minutes to perform and does not require patients to be stabilized ahead of scanning, it could replace most other more time-consuming tests that help find blockages, including not only exercise stress testing and echocardiograms, but also positron electron tomography (PET) imaging or magnetic resonance imaging," Lardo said in a statement.
His colleague, Dr. Richard George, said current tests only show the worst blockages.
"Even when patients have a normal exercise stress test, they may still be in the early stages of atherosclerosis, when vessels start to clog, narrow and harden, gradually straining circulation," said George.
"The new technique could also help eliminate many unnecessary, invasive catheterization procedures when there is no underlying blockage, or become a practical test to verify if treatments with drugs therapies, surgical bypass or stented arteries have worked to improve blood flow," Lardo added.
Catheterization involves threading tubes into the blood vessels and injection of a chemical to act as a contrasting agent.
More than 1 million Americans have a cardiac catheterization procedures each year. They take up 45 minutes and recovery can take several hours. Infections, heart attacks and strokes are all possible side-effects of the procedure.
CT scans are X-rays souped up with the help of a computer to provide a three-dimensional image of the inside of the body.
source: http://health.yahoo.com
Tests in dogs show that the computed tomography or CT scan could track blood flow slowed by the narrowing of arteries, researchers told the American Heart Association meeting in Chicago.
They said the non-invasive test took less than half the time of exercise stress tests and echocardiograms now used to find early signs of dangerously clogged blood vessels.
Dr. Albert Lardo and colleagues at the Johns Hopkins University of School of Medicine in Baltimore are now testing the method in human volunteers.
"Because it takes less than 15 minutes to perform and does not require patients to be stabilized ahead of scanning, it could replace most other more time-consuming tests that help find blockages, including not only exercise stress testing and echocardiograms, but also positron electron tomography (PET) imaging or magnetic resonance imaging," Lardo said in a statement.
His colleague, Dr. Richard George, said current tests only show the worst blockages.
"Even when patients have a normal exercise stress test, they may still be in the early stages of atherosclerosis, when vessels start to clog, narrow and harden, gradually straining circulation," said George.
"The new technique could also help eliminate many unnecessary, invasive catheterization procedures when there is no underlying blockage, or become a practical test to verify if treatments with drugs therapies, surgical bypass or stented arteries have worked to improve blood flow," Lardo added.
Catheterization involves threading tubes into the blood vessels and injection of a chemical to act as a contrasting agent.
More than 1 million Americans have a cardiac catheterization procedures each year. They take up 45 minutes and recovery can take several hours. Infections, heart attacks and strokes are all possible side-effects of the procedure.
CT scans are X-rays souped up with the help of a computer to provide a three-dimensional image of the inside of the body.
source: http://health.yahoo.com
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