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Is It Safe to Undergo Cardiac CT Scans? Computed tomography, or more commonly known as CT scan, combines multiple X-ray images with the assistance of a computer to produce cross-sectional views of the body. A cardiac CT is a heart-imaging test using CT technology to visualize the heart anatomy, coronary circulation, and great vessels including the aorta, pulmonary veins, and arteries. Cardiac CT scans help doctors locate diseased arteries without the need to perform a more invasive angiogram, a procedure that involves threading a catheter through heart arteries. CT scans have become increasingly popular and accurate because scientists develop better and better machine. Doctors can actually see the arteries that cause heart attacks. It is expected that approximately 2.8 million Americans will undergo cardiac CT scans in 2009, and the number of CT scanners installed in the cardiology practices has tripled in the past 2 years. A typical cardiac CT scan would cost about $800 in the United States and it gives doctors clear 3D images of the coronary arteries. Yet, there are still many concerns about the amount of radiation dose associated with the CT scans. So, is it safe to undergo a cardiac CT scan? In the United States, the normal expected radiation dose from chemicals in the ground or flying in an airplane is 3 millisevert a year. In contrast, the CT scan delivers on average about 20 millisevert.
Several studies have already showed that the scans could expose heart disease patients to double, triple or even quadruple the radiation exposure of an angiogram. This could therefore raise the risk of lung or breast cancer. Recently, a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association on June 9, 2009 reported that they have found a way to reduce the radiation dose from a cardiac CT scan by half without sacrificing the quality of the scan. The researchers from William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan devised a formula that could cut down the exposure by tailoring each CT scan to a patient’s weight and heart rate. Nearly 5,000 patients undergoing cardiac CT scans at 15 hospital image centers had been tested. Techniques used by the researchers included shortening the duration for the image scanned, reducing a patient’s heart rate through medications and adjusting the voltage according to the body weight. It was found that the estimated radiation dose could be reduced by 53.3 percent. While imaging equipment makers GE Healthcare, Siemens, Philips and Toshiba Medical Systems helped the researchers developed the new formula (instructions) in the study, they are also working on making lower-radiation CT scanners. The study was supported by a grant from Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Michigan. According to the researchers, the best part of the new formula (instructions) is that it allows the physicians and radiology technicians to customize the CT scan according to individual patient. Weight of a patient was the most important factor that affects radiation dose. Meanwhile, the scientists also discovered that good pictures could still be obtained even with the lower voltage. In fact, by lowering the voltage by 20 percent, the radiation dose could be reduced by about 40 percent. With the introduction of new formula, the radiation dose is now in the range of 10 millisevert. The researchers believe a lot of scanners with radiation dose of 1 millisevert being invented within a couple of years.
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