Cardiac Imaging

While cardiac ultrasound is the widely used imaging modality for heart assessments, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and nuclear imaging are also used and are often complimentary, each offering specific details about the heart other modalities cannot. For this reason the clinical question being asked often determines the imaging test that will be used.

ACC: CCTA can improve chest pain diagnoses without increased costs

CHICAGOUsing cardiac CT angiography (CCTA) early on in the presentation of chest pain may more accurately assess patients who should be admitted for MI, according to the results of the late-breaking ROMICAT II trial presented March 27 at the 61st annual American College of Cardiology (ACC) scientific session. Additionally, CCTA resulted in a reduction of length of stay at essentially no increased cost.

TeraRecon updates enterprise image management at ACC

TeraRecon released version 4.4.7 of its iNtuition enterprise image management system with support for quantitative volumetric cardiac imaging, at the 61st annual scientific session and expo of the American College of Cardiology (ACC), in Chicago.

ACC: Stress MPI is cheaper, results in fewer cardiac events than exercise testing

CHICAGOEvaluation of acute chest pain in the emergency department setting with stress myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) results in a lower one-year cardiac event rate and at lower costs compared with exercise treadmill testing, according to a scientific poster presented March 25 at the 61st annual American College of Cardiology (ACC) scientific session.

ACCA: Appropriate use is physician's professional duty

CHICAGOIt is a physician's professional duty to acknowledge and form appropriate use criteria in healthcare, said Manesh Patel, MD, director of cath lab research at the Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C., during a presentation March 22 at the annual American College of Cardiovascular Administrators (ACCA) meeting. Additionally, he said that the current system needs work, but there may not be one solution to fix it.

AIM: Antiplatelets may cause more harm than good in CKD patients

While antiplatelets have been found to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, a meta-analysis published in the March 20 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, found that for chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients, they may do more harm than good. In fact, researchers found that bleeding risks may outweigh the benefits of antiplatelet treatment in this patient population; however, research remains scarce.

Radiology: Additional MR sequences improve pulmonary embolism detection

Adding two MRI sequences to a common MR pulmonary angiogram (MRPA) significantly improves detection of pulmonary embolism and could provide an alternative to CT angiography (CTA) for diagnosis, according to a study published in the April issue of Radiology.

Cath Lab Imaging Considerations for Peds

Like adults, children may need to undergo catheterization procedures at hospitals. What are the considerations when these young patients require cath lab imaging exams? Two pediatric cath labs share their strategies.

A heart-to-heart on imaging usage, data breaches

Listen to your heart, and the heart, too.

Around the web

Several key trends were evident at the Radiological Society of North America 2024 meeting, including new CT and MR technology and evolving adoption of artificial intelligence.

Ron Blankstein, MD, professor of radiology, Harvard Medical School, explains the use of artificial intelligence to detect heart disease in non-cardiac CT exams.