CT is a non-invasive, low dose, a first-line diagnostic test for CAD with a high sensitivity and negative predictive value (NPV). It can be used to accurately diagnose coronary artery disease (CAD) in your patients^2,3 and is now recommended by the new guidelines but backed by evidence. The SCOT-Heart trial is a prospective multi-center study showing that cardiac CT markedly clarifies the diagnosis of angina due to coronary heart disease. This reduces the need for further stress testing, leads to more appropriate use of invasive tests, and showed coronary CTA–first approach resulted in a 41% reduction in cardiac death and myocardial infarction (MI) and significantly more early initiation of preventive therapy (Tx). ⁴

Benefits of Cardiac CT

Avoid costly and unnecessary procedures

Identify issues early on and facilitate preventive measures

Lessen burden on your staff, leading to a better patient experience

Confidently diagnose chest pain symptoms without additional testing

Overestimated CAD diagnosis leads to the overuse of invasive, costly, and low-yield invasive coronary angiography (ICA).^6,7 The new 2021 Chest Pain guidelines allow for the ability to triage patients for more appropriate scanning, optimize efficiencies, and place a greater focus on those in the most critical condition. Coronary computed tomographic angiography (CCTA) has now been recommended as a frontline testing strategy by the American College of Cardiology (ACC), American Heart Association (AHA), and other groups in the evaluation of patients with stable and acute chest pain who have no known coronary artery disease (CAD).²

Read the full guidelines on JACC.org

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the leading cause of death around the world.⁹ CCTA systems are versatile and allow for a quick and confident diagnosis that can rule out heart disease without additional testing. The high negative predictive value of CCTA helps enable patients to be discharged without additional unnecessary tests, improving the overall department throughput and allowing Cath Labs to become more efficient, less overloaded, taxed, and burdened by patients with a range of symptoms.

CCTA also allows for the possibility of higher reimbursement treatments and private insurers have been adjusting their reimbursement procedures to help better align with the new guidelines and will continue to do so in the future.

GE Healthcare has your cardiac department covered with two minimally-invasive scanners to diagnose chest pain outside the cath lab. We combined hardware and software technologies to reach higher temporal resolution for the whole volume of the heart.

REFERENCES

1. 1. Hoffmann U, Truong QA, Fleg JL, et al. Design of the Rule Out Myocardial Ischemia/Infarction Using Computer Assisted Tomography: a multicenter randomized comparative effectiveness trial of cardiac computed tomography versus alternative triage strategies in patients with acute chest pain in the emergency department. Am Heart J. 2012;163(3):330-338.e1. DOI:10.1016/j.ahj.2012.01.028
2. 2. Gulati M, Levy PD, Mukherjee, D et al. 2021 AHA/ACC/ASE/CHEST/SAEM/SCCT/SCMR Guideline for the Evaluation and Diagnosis of Chest Pain: Executive Summary: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Joint Committee on Clinical Practice Guidelines. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2021;78(22):2218-2261. DOI:10.1016/j.jacc.2021.07.052
3. 3. Chest pain may extend outside the chest, often needs to be checked by a professional. American College of Cardiology. Published October 28, 2021. Accessed Februrary 28, 2022. https://www.acc.org/About-ACC/Press-Releases/2021/10/28/16/52/Chest-pain-may-extend-outside-the-chest-often-needs-to-be-checked-by-a-professional
4. 4. Williams MC, Hunter A, Shah ASV, et al. Use of Coronary Computed Tomographic Angiography to Guide Management of Patients With Coronary Disease. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2016;67(15):1759-1768. DOI:10.1016/j.jacc.2016.02.026
5. 5. Data on file. General Electric Company. January 2022. JB16622XX
6. 6. Patel MR, Peterson ED, Dai D, et al. Low diagnostic yield of elective coronary angiography [published correction appears in N Engl J Med. 2010 Jul 29;363(5):498]. N Engl J Med. 2010;362(10):886-895. DOI:10.1056/NEJMoa0907272
7. 7. Moss AJ, Williams MC, Newby DE, Nicol ED. The Updated NICE Guidelines: Cardiac CT as the First-Line Test for Coronary Artery Disease. Curr Cardiovasc Imaging Rep. 2017;10(5):15. DOI:10.1007/s12410-017-9412-6
8. 8. SCOT-HEART investigators. CT coronary angiography in patients with suspected angina due to coronary heart disease (SCOT-HEART): an open-label, parallel-group, multicentre trial [published correction appears in Lancet 2015 Jun 13;385(9985):2354]. Lancet. 2015;385(9985):2383-2391. DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(15)60291-4
9. 9. The burden of coronary artery disease. Clarify. Updated October 12, 2009. Accessed February 28, 2022. https://www.clarify-registry.com/journalists/about-coronary-artery-disease/1-the-burden-of-coronary-artery-disease/