Coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) allows coronary artery visualization and the detection of coronary stenoses. In addition; it has been suggested as a novel, noninvasive modality for coronary atherosclerotic plaque detection, characterization, and quantification. Emerging data show that coronary CTA-based semiquantitative plaque characterization and quantification are sufficiently reproducible for clinical purposes, and fully quantitative approaches may be appropriate for use in clinical trials. Furthermore, several lines of investigation have validated plaque imaging by coronary CTA against other imaging modalities such as intravascular ultrasound/"virtual histology" and optical coherence tomography, and there are emerging data using biochemical modalities such as near-infrared spectroscopy. Finally, clinical validation in patients with acute coronary syndrome and in the outpatient setting has shown incremental value of CTA-based plaque characterization for the prediction of major cardiovascular events. With recent developments in image acquisition and reconstruction technologies, coronary CTA can be performed with relatively low radiation exposure. With further technological innovation and clinical research, coronary CTA may become an important tool in the quest to identify vulnerable plaques and the at-risk patient.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jcmg.2011.03.006 | DOI Listing |
S D Med
December 2024
Department of Cardiovascular Diseases, University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine.
Advanced cardiac imaging modalities have revolutionized the field of cardiovascular medicine, offering invaluable tools for both diagnosis and the management of a wide spectrum of cardiovascular diseases. These imaging methods, including echocardiography, cardiac computed tomography (CT), computed tomography angiography (CTA), cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), nuclear imaging, and fluoroscopy, offer various approaches to evaluate both the structure and function of the heart. This article provides an overview of imaging modalities for primary care physicians, highlighting their types, advantages, limitations and clinical uses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFQuant Imaging Med Surg
January 2025
Department of Radiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Background: The scanning trigger threshold affects image quality. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of different scanning trigger thresholds on brain computed tomography angiography (CTA) image quality.
Methods: In this prospective study, 80 patients undergoing brain CTA examinations with dual-layer CT (DLCT) were randomly divided into group A and group B, with 40 patients in each group.
Eur Radiol
January 2025
Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, 1-1-1 Honjo, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto, 860-8556, Japan.
Objectives: There is limited evidence of the pericoronary fat attenuation index (FAI) as an imaging marker to assess cancer therapy-related cardiovascular toxicity. We aimed to measure FAI in four consecutive coronary CT angiography (CTA) scans before and 3, 6, and 12 months after anthracycline treatment in patients with breast cancer to determine trends in dynamic changes in FAI after treatment.
Methods: We performed a post hoc analysis of a prospective study (between August 2019 and July 2020) in which anthracycline-induced myocardial injury was evaluated using cardiac CT.
J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg
January 2025
Mount Sinai Health System, New York, NY.
Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of non-invasive coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) as an alternative to traditional invasive coronary angiography (ICA) for preoperative evaluation of low risk patients with an indication for non-emergent mitral surgery and to assess any difference in adverse outcomes from this strategy.
Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study from a single center with data collected from July 2014 - June 2020 for 1576 patients undergoing mitral valve surgery of all etiologies - excluding patients requiring coronary artery bypass surgery. We performed a 1:2 propensity score matching for patients evaluated with CT (n=345) to those evaluated with ICA (n=602).
Front Cardiovasc Med
January 2025
Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Taizhou Central Hospital (Taizhou University Hospital), Taizhou, Zhejiang, China.
A young female patient suffered cardiogenic shock after undergoing surgery for an ectopic pregnancy. Coronary artery computed tomography angiography (CTA) revealed a left main artery (LM) originating from the right coronary sinus and traveling between the aorta and pulmonary artery. We successfully resuscitated the patient with mechanical circulatory support using veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) and an intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP).
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