Each year, 1.5 million Americans receive heart catheterizations. This procedure requires doctors to thread a catheter through the arm or leg of a patient and allows them to look for trouble spots in the heart. Now, experts say there is a new, high-tech scanner that is making it easier than ever to spot potential heart problems.
Elizabeth Martin is no stranger to heart tests. I have had catheterizations, she says. Ive had stress tests, nuclear stress tests, MRIs.
Today, Martin is getting a new kind of scan. I am a little nervous, she says. This is new to me.
Joseph Schoepf, M.D., a radiologist at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, says dual source CT scanners are helping doctors see the heart like never before. We can exactly pinpoint little trouble spots that may cause problems for the patient later on, Dr. Schoepf says. The images are breathtaking.
With two X-ray sources, the scan can take approximately 6,000 images in 10 seconds. In fact, Dr. Schoepf says the system is twice as fast as current CT scanners and cuts down on radiation exposure.
We can virtually freeze cardiac motion and exquisitely look at what is wrong with the heart vessels, he says.
During an ordinary CT scan, patients have to take drugs that reduce their heart rates, so the machine can take better pictures. With this [new] scanner, patients dont need additional drugs to slow down the heart rate, which is an additional benefit, explains Dr. Schoepf.
Martin was treated for an irregular heartbeat last January. Her new dual CT scan showed the treatment worked, and there were no additional problems. Martin feels relieved and says the scan was a piece of cake.
If you would like more information, please contact:
Heather Woolwine
Public Relations
Medical University of South Carolina
Charleston, S.C.
(843) 792-7669
