25 Aug Coronary CT Angiography May Be Best Approach to Chest Pain
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Prof. Newby
Prof David Newby FRSE FMedSci
Personal Chair – BHF John Wheatley Chair of Cardiology
University of Edinburgh
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: There are many tests that can try and determine whether a patient has heart disease. All are imperfect and do not directly see if the heart arteries are diseased.
This study used a CT heart scan to see if there was any heart disease in patients who presented to the outpatient clinic with chest pains that could be due to coronary heart disease. The doctor use the scan result to decide whether they had heart disease and how to manage the patient.
The study has found that if you use a CT heart scan then you are less likely to have a heart attack in the future. In the first year, you may require treatment with an angiogram and heart surgery (stent or heart bypass) but after the first year, you are less likely to need these treatments because the disease has already been treated promptly.
MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?
Response: If a patient has symptoms of chest pain, then the CT heart scan is the best approach because it ensures that the right patient is more likely to get the right treatment, and this will reduce their future risk of heart attacks.
MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this work?
Response: We now want to see if the same is true in patients presenting to the Emergency Department with sudden chest pains as well as middle-aged individuals who have no symptoms but have risk factors for developing heart disease.
Disclosures: This study was funded by the Chief Scientist Office, Scotland.
Dr Newby has done some consultancy for Toshiba Medical Systems a number of years ago.
Citation:
NEJM publication:
Coronary CT Angiography and 5-Year Risk of Myocardial Infarction (SCOT-HEART)The SCOT-HEART Investigators
August 25, 2018 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1805971
and presented as ESMO 2018
[wysija_form id=”3″]
[last-modified]
The information on MedicalResearch.com is provided for educational purposes only, and is in no way intended to diagnose, cure, or treat any medical or other condition. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health and ask your doctor any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. In addition to all other limitations and disclaimers in this agreement, service provider and its third party providers disclaim any liability or loss in connection with the content provided on this website.
Last Updated on August 25, 2018 by Marie Benz MD FAAD