Chest Pain Guidelines

The first comprehensive guideline for the evaluation of chest pain was published in October 2021 by the American Heart Association (AHA) and the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and received the endorsement of most of the other U.S. subspecialty cardiology societies. The new guideline recommends medical professionals use standardized risk assessments, clinical pathways and tools to evaluate and communicate with people experiencing chest pain. While the guideline covers the role of all types of tests and imaging, the new guidelines elevated the frontline use of coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) and FFR-CT in specific patients. This inclusion has caused a large amount of interest in expanding cardiac CT programs.

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Heart palpitations, chest pain among the long-lasting side effects of COVID-19, new research confirms

“Before we examined the data, I thought we would find an ample amount of the symptoms to be specifically associated with long COVID, but that wasn’t the case," one researcher said. 

Cardiologist Martha Gulati, MD, who specializes in both preventive cardiology and cardiovascular disease in women, has been named the Anita Dann Friedman Endowed Chair in Women’s Cardiovascular Medicine and Research at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles.

Cardiologist Martha Gulati named chair of women’s cardiovascular medicine and research at Cedars-Sinai

Gulati, an award-winning cardiologist and author, first joined Cedars-Sinai in 2022. She is also the president of the American Society for Preventive Cardiology.

Cian McCarthy, MD, cardiovascular fellow, Massachusetts General Hospital, and a member of the National Cardiovascular Data Registry (NCDR) Chest Pain-MI registry steering committee, explains a study of the NCDR data showing only 33% of hospitals are using high-sensitivity troponin. However, he expects that to rise because of high sensitivity troponin (hs-cTn) being included in recent guidelines as a front-line test.

VIDEO: High sensitivity cardiac troponin use based on the NCDR Chest Pain-MI Registry 

Cian McCarthy, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital, and a member of the National Cardiovascular Data Registry (NCDR) Chest Pain-MI registry steering committee, explains a study of the NCDR data showing only 33% of hospitals are using high-sensitivity troponin.

AI-powered CCTA outperforms usual care when evaluating stable chest pain

The new study, presented at the AHA Scientific Sessions 2022 conference in Chicago, focused on data from more than 2,000 patients. 

Left, HeartFlow's RoadMap analysis enables cardiac CT readers to identify stenoses in the major coronary arteries. The AI provides visualization and quantification of the location and severity of anatomic narrowings. Right image, HeartFlow's Plaque Analysis AI algorithm automates assessment of coronary plaque characteristics and volume on CCTA exams to greatly reduce the time it takes to manually assess and quantify these features.

HeartFlow gains FDA clearance for 2 new AI-powered imaging assessments

The solutions, Plaque Analysis and RoadMap Analysis, both use coronary CT angiography to provide clinicians with a noninvasive look at patients who present with coronary artery disease and face a heightened myocardial infarction risk.

VIDEO: Cardiac CT as a front-line chest pain exam in the ED

Harold Litt, MD, explains the use of cardiac CT as a primary imaging exam for chest pain at his emergency department over the past decade.

New recommendations highlight the importance of CCTA when treating acute chest pain in the ED

The Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography developed and published the new document to help educate healthcare providers who regularly treat acute chest pain in the emergency department. 

Cardiac CT comparable to invasive angiography when assessing stable chest pain, new meta-analysis confirms

Researchers examined data from nearly 5,400 patients, tracking such outcomes as myocardial infarction, stroke and all-cause mortality. 

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