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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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CT Angiography
is also used to:
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Assist in diagnosis and management
of patients with high cardiovascular risk
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Assess pulmonary veins, pre- and post-radiofrequency
ablation, in patients with atrial fibrillation
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Assess coronary veins prior to placing
a biventricular pacemaker
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Assess vessels prior to placing stents
in abdomen or other areas of the body.
-
Assess patients with known or suspected
anomalous coronary arteries
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Assess patients with congenital
anomalies of coronary circulation, embolism or aortic
dissection of great vessels
-
Assess a symptomatic patient when suspicion
of pulmonary embolism is present
-
Assess patients who are not candidates
for conventional angiography
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|
 |
 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.
What Can Be Detected
With
CT Angiography (CTA)?
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.
| Same
Patient Comparison: Carotid artery (in
neck) stenosis with plaque present (circled). Artery
narrows just above the plaque deposit. |
|
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| traditional
angiography |
volume
rendering in
3D color view |
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Who
is an appropriate candidate for CT Angiography? back
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Patients with chest
pain, usually atypical or chronic
-
Evaluation of symptomatic
patients with known Coronary Artery Disease
-
Symptomatic patients
who have bypass grafts or stents
-
Patient with a nuclear
test suspected to be a false positive
-
Patients with an equivocal
nuclear study
-
Patients with an abnormal
doppler study
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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. |
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