Cardiac Imaging

While cardiac ultrasound is the widely used imaging modality for heart assessments, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and nuclear imaging are also used and are often complimentary, each offering specific details about the heart other modalities cannot. For this reason the clinical question being asked often determines the imaging test that will be used.

RSS icon
There have been a big increase in interest in cardiac CT following the publication of the 2021 ACC Chest Pain Evaluation Guidelines, which raised CT angiography (CTA) to a 1A level of evidence. This has prompted many centers to consider creating CTA programs.

VIDEO: Cardiac CT training requirements for radiologists and technologists

Brian Ghoshhajra, MD, division chief, cardiovascular imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, explains what specialized training is needed to perform coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) as interest rapidly rises in this field. 

Brian Ghoshhajra, MD, MBA, division chief, cardiovascular imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and associate professor of radiology, Harvard Medical School, and a board member of the Society of cardiovascular Computed Tomography (SCCT) explains the rapidly expanding interest in cardiac computed tomography (CT) under the new chest pain evaluation guidelines.

VIDEO: The new role of cardiac CT in chest pain evaluation

Brian Ghoshhajra, MD, MBA, division chief, cardiovascular imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and associate professor of radiology, Harvard Medical School, and a board member of the Society of cardiovascular Computed Tomography (SCCT), explains the rapidly expanding interest in cardiac computed tomography (CT) under the new chest pain evaluation guidelines.

An example of spectral cardiac CT being used to show iodine density in the myocardium to show perfusion deficits. Shown by Philips healthcare at ACC 2022.

VIDEO: Mitigating the contrast media shortage impact on CT imaging

Brian Ghoshhajra, MD, MBA, division chief, cardiovascular imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and associate professor of radiology, Harvard Medical School, explains the impact of the iodine contrast shortage on computed tomography (CT) and cardiac imaging.
 

Contrast shortage update: GE expects supply to 'progressively recover' soon

Production at the facility in Shanghai is expected to be near 100% starting on June 6.

Iodine contrast being loaded into a contrast injector in preparation for a cardiac CT scan at Duly Health and Care in Lisle, Illinois. The contrast shortage is causing some healthcare organizations to postpone exams and procedures and ration contrast supplies. Photo by Dave Fornell

ACR working with FDA and HHS to help address imaging contrast shortage

The American College of Radiology (ACR) announced this week its government relations staff has been engaging federal agencies in an effort to improve product availability and hasten resolution of the ongoing iodine contrast shortage.

Interview with Alan H. Matsumoto, MD, FSIR, FACR, FAHA, professor of radiology, chair of the Department of Radiology at the University of Virginia, vice chair of the American College of Radiology (ACR) Board of Chancellors, and the chairman of the ACR Commission on Interventional and Cardiovascular Radiology. He explains how the ACR and group purchasing organizations are asking the FDA to mitigate the contrast shortage with an emergency use authorization (EUA) to allow non-FDA cleared iodine contrast use.

VIDEO: American College of Radiology working with FDA to mitigate contrast shortage

Alan Matsumoto, MD, chair of the department of radiology at the University of Virginia and vice chair of the ACR Board of Chancellors, explains how the ACR and group purchasing organizations are asking the FDA to mitigate the contrast shortage with an emergency use authorization to allow non-FDA cleared iodine contrast agents to be imported.

The American Society fo Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC) did not support the 2021 Chest Pain Guidelines because of the high support for cardiac CT and FFR-CT.

VIDEO: Why the ASNC did not support the 2021 Chest Pain Evaluation Guidelines

Randall Thompson, MD, immediate past president of the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology, said the group had issues with the document's elevation of cardiac CT and FFR-CT. 

Cardiac CT imaging has been moved to the forefront of medical imaging to evaluate chest pain under the new 2021 chest pain guidelines from the AHA and ACC. #Yescct #CCTA #CTA #CT

VIDEO: The new role of cardiac CT under the 2021 chest pain evaluation guidelines

Eric Williamson, MD, president of the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (SCCT) and professor of radiology at Mayo Clinic, explains the rapid rise of interest in cardiac CT imaging following its inclusion as a top recommendation in the ACC 2021 Chest Pain Evaluation Guidelines.

Displaying 97 - 104 of 158

Around the web

Health Imaging
Nearly $800,000 settlement offered to family of man who died during MRI exam

The patient, who was being cared for in the ICU, was not accompanied or monitored by nursing staff during his exam, despite being sedated.

Cardiovascular Business
Global shortage of nuclear imaging isotopes may be over

The nuclear imaging isotope shortage of molybdenum-99 may be over now that the sidelined reactor is restarting. ASNC's president says PET and new SPECT technologies helped cardiac imaging labs better weather the storm.

Cardiovascular Business
‘A huge win’: CMS significantly increases Medicare payments for cardiac CT

CMS has more than doubled the CCTA payment rate from $175 to $357.13. The move, expected to have a significant impact on the utilization of cardiac CT, received immediate praise from imaging specialists.