Newer Cardiac Imaging Technology Accurately Identifies Coronary Artery Stenosis

The first multicenter study of the accuracy of some of the latest cardiac imaging systems revealed that they were 99% effective in ruling out obstructive coronary artery stenosis (narrowing of these arteries) as compared with the more costly and invasive coronary angiography systems conventionally used by clinicians.

Matthew J. Budoff, M.D., a principal investigator at the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Medical Center (LA BioMed), is the lead investigator of the study conducted at 16 different sites with 230 research volunteers with chest pain but no known coronary artery disease.

"The research found this noninvasive method of cardiac imaging will effectively detect stenosis--a constriction or narrowing--of the coronary arteries which can lead to heart attacks and may require surgery to repair,” Dr. Budoff said. "This is good news for patients who, in the past, might have been forced to undergo a more expensive and invasive procedure to determine if they suffered from blockages in the arteries leading to their hearts.”

In the study, each of the research volunteers was evaluated using some of the newer cardiac computed tomography (CT) technology--electrocardiographically gated 64-multidetector row coronary CT angiography (CCTA). Each volunteer also underwent the more expensive and invasive coronary angiography, which is frequently called the "gold standard” for evaluating coronary artery stenosis.

The researchers discovered CCTA provided high diagnostic accuracy for detection of obstructive coronary stenosis at the thresholds of a 50% narrowing and at 70% stenosis. It also found CCTA was accurate 99% of the time in ruling out coronary artery stenosis.

The study was sponsored by GE Healthcare (Chalfont St. Giles, UK), which manufactures the cardiac CT imaging devices used in the study.

Related Links:
Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center
GE Healthcare