CT Heart Scan-ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS IN CARDIOLOGY

Cardiology is that branch of medicine which deals with the diagnosis and treatment of heart diseases. Cardiologists investigate patients with suspected heart disease by taking a very careful, extensive history of the patient’s condition, and performing a complete physical examination. Nearly 5 million people today have had a cardiac event. Finding a physician who specializes in the treatment of heart disease is of utmost importance to those individuals who need treatment. Los Angeles area Cardiologists are dedicated to providing superior cardiovascular care. A board certified cardiologist, he and his team of qualified nurses and ancillary staff work together to provide the best possible treatment for their cardiology patients.

In order to provide appropriate treatment for their patients, cardiologists first need to accurately diagnose their patient’s conditions. ECG machines, x-rays, echocardiographs, cardiac catherization and many other diagnostic equipment have been providing accurate diagnosis for numerous cardiac conditions. New non-invasive imaging devices have shown enormous promise to diagnose a variety of cardiovascular abnormalities. Perhaps the most important such technology in cardiac diagnostics is the development of the 64 Slice CT Scan. The introduction of 64 slice cardiac CT allows nearly all patients to be scanned with very high resolution. Scan times are now of the order of several seconds; this means that even patients with severe pulmonary disease and congestive heart failure can hold their breath for the required length of time. Reduced time translates to minimal or no motion artifacts. Higher number of slices means higher resolution. Such high resolution allows visualization of the entire coronary tree with high accuracy and detail. Individual atheromatous plaques can be detected and characterized. Calcification can be visualized and used as an added variable in desease management.

A CT Heart Scan uncovers the exterior of the heart, position, shape and the coronary arteries on the surface of the heart. This image is a picture of the whole heart put together. A Heart Scan is essential for early heart desease detection. A heart scan takes less pictures than a 64 slice CT scan but they both have incredible findings. A heart scan is a painless scan which takes about ten minutes. The process is similar to taking an x-ray of the body. The patient lies on a scanner table and multiple images of the heart are taken. The physician then interprets the images of the heart and determines the amount of calcified plaque in the arteries. Indications for a heart scan are high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, history of tobacco use, family history of heart desease, obesity and high stress levels. Heart scans make it possible to early detect and prevent heart attack.