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See the difference!
volume rendering in 3D color
view
Leg on the right shows a total occlusion or blockage with
no blood flow. Small collateral vessels have generated
themselves to get blood to the lower leg and foot. The
other leg shows blood flowing, but artery has disease
and blood flow is somewhat impeded.
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Who is an appropriate candidate
for CT Angiography?
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Patients with chest pain, usually atypical
or chronic
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Evaluation of symptomatic patients
with known Coronary Artery Disease
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Symptomatic patients who have bypass
grafts or stents
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Patient with a nuclear test suspected
to be a false positive
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Patients with an equivocal nuclear
study
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Patients with an abnormal doppler study
CT Angiography also used to:
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Assist in diagnosis and management
patients with high cardiovascular high risk
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Assess pulmonary veins, pre- and post-radiofrequency
ablation, in patients with atrial fibrillation
-
Assess coronary veins prior to placing
a biventricular pacemaker
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Assess vessels prior to placing stents
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in abdomen or other areas of the body.
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Assess patients with known or sus-
pected anomalous coronary arteries
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Assess patients with congenital
anomalies of coronary circulation embolism or aortic
dissection of great vessels
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Assess a symptomatic patient when suspicion
of pulmonary embolism is present
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Patients that are not candidates for
conventional angiography
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| "For years,
conventional catheter-based angiograms have been the gold
standard for imaging the coronary arteries and determining
the presence and extent of cardiovascular disease. But now
multislice CT technology is gaining a clinical foothold with
users and earning believers as a new, noninvasive approach
for studying the heart’s structure and its minute, vital
arteries. The cardiovascular community is fighting a tough
battle with America’s No. 1 killer, but the revolutionary
capabilities of cardiac CT have the potential to offer earlier
diagnosis and thus better cardiac patient management. |
Erin
Chesson
healthimaging.com |
 What
is CT Angiograpy (CTA)?
A CT is an x-ray technique that produces
a more detailed image of the body’s organs than a regular
x-ray does. Conventional x-rays produce two-dimensional images,
but in a single rotation, this CT Scanner takes 64 pictures of the
heart and combines them to form the three-dimensional view of your
heart’s anatomy for the physician to analyze.
Due to the phenomenal coverage and speed that
has been achieved with current CT equipment, the scanner can effectively
freeze the motion of the heart, helping to ensure the most accurate
representation ever viewed of the heart and vascular system of the
human body. Physicians will be able to see, with startling clarity,
developing blockages or total blockages in the arteries leading
to the heart or other areas of the body.
| Same
Patient Comparison: Carotid artery (in
neck) stenosis with plaque present (circled). Artery
narrows just above the plaque deposit. |
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| volume
rendering in
3D color view |
traditional
angiography |
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What Can Be Detected With CT
Angiography (CTA)? back
to top
A CT Angiogram will reveal signs of
disease in the heart and vascular system. Physicians will
receive accurate and exact
information about:
- The presence of atherosclerosis (the
build-up of plaque in vessels of the
heart or body).
- The quality of the plaque (The components
of plaque, which include lipids, calcium, fibrous tissue,
blood and other material can be characterized during cardiac
CTA. It can be determined whether a plaque is soft, unstable
and therefore more likely to rupture or more stable and
hardened.).
- The presence and amount of calcium
build-up in the vessels.
- The cause of atypical chest pain, particularly
in cases where symptoms are
origin.
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| How
Do You Prepare for a CT Angiography (CTA)
You will have a preliminary visit
with a cardiologist to assess:
- Creatinine level (ability to clear
the contrast dye from the kidneys)
- Allergies to contrast dye
- Sinus Rhythm, measured with an
EKG (Heart beating at a normal
rate and in a regular rhythm)
- Beta Blocker tolerance (Beta Blockers
are a medication that lowers the heart rate and substantially
improves the image quality of cardiac CTA.)
Patients will then be asked to:
- Take one 50 mg Beta Blocker tablet
the morning of the scan and a
second 50 mg Beta Blocker tablet one hour before the scan.
- Not to eat or drink anything
but water for four hours prior to the scan.
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What Happens After CT Angiography (CTA)?
Your IV will be removed and you will
change clothes and return immediately to
normal activities. Test results will be ready on the next business
day. A nurse will call you with your results. |
| Same
Patient Comparison: Superior mesenteric
artery (artery off the aorta) with occluded stent
and impeded blood flow. |
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traditional
angiography |
volume rendering
in 3D color view |
traditional
angiography |
volume rendering
in 3D color view |
pre-treatment |
post-treatment |
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