Predicting & preventing heart attacks | Carotid plaque assessments | Key FDA decisions | ICE for structural heart interventions

Imagers can now identify vulnerable plaques that were once very challenging to find. The next steps include improving the screening process and determining which lesions need to be treated right away.

Changing society guidelines and insurance policies have resulted in more interest in CCTA. To help your CCTA program expand, one expert told Cardiovascular Business, it is important to remember the close relationship between cardiology and radiology. 

"PET has changed the practice of nuclear medicine in general and I think it is going to revitalize the practice of cardiology,"  Marcelo Di Carli, MD, told Cardiovascular Business. He noted that more practices seem interested in implementing PET than ever before.

PET has already gained significant momentum in recent years. Now, researchers are pointing to another possible use for the popular imaging modality: assessing carotid artery atherosclerosis.

The advanced algorithm was designed to detect and evaluate mitral annular calcification on routine, non-gated CT scans. It is now available as part of Carebricks, a generative AI platform from Bunkerhill Health. 

There have been so many developments in the treatment of TR that it can be challenging to keep up. The ACC crafted this new document to help ensure cardiologists, cardiac imagers and other clinicians have access to the most recent clinical data and policy decisions.

An updated version of Heartflow's Plaque Analysis platform has gained FDA clearance. In addition, the company announced that Cigna will cover the platform going forward.

ICE is gaining momentum as a helpful imaging option during structural heart interventions, according to a new SCAI position statement. TEE and TTE remain incredibly important, but there are times when ICE can provide the guidance necessary.

“Multimodality imaging in cardio-oncology is something many of us in the field are truly excited about," Daniel Addison, MD, told Cardiovascular Business. He noted that modalities other than echocardiography are starting to play a much larger role in the treatment of these patients.

Thanks to AI, clinicians can use mammograms to do a lot more than identify signs of breast cancer. Researchers explored data from nearly 50,000 patients, presenting their findings in Heart.